The levees operated and maintained by the Metro East Sanitary District have never failed in 100-plus years. Designed and built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to provide the 500-year level of flood protection, the levees protect thousands of lives, homes and jobs. Hundreds of employers throughout the Great American Bottoms provide jobs numbering in the tens of thousands, with the 10 largest private, single-site job centers protected by MESD accounting go for more than 9,000 jobs.
134.26 square miles or 85,927 acres in the American Bottoms plus all property, homes and jobs "above the bluffs" which would be impacted if highways, railroads, communications, drinking water treatment systems and regional infrastructure were flooded by the Mississippi River, cutting everyone off from the Missouri side of St. Louis.
Click here for a map of the District protected by MESD
Money is obtained by direct tax on the assessed valuation of all real property within the District.
To maintain water for the district, MESD owns 2,776 acres and employs approximately forty-five (45) full time employees.
