ST. LOUIS, Mo. — Families hit by the May 2025 tornado now have until Dec. 23 to sign up for St. Louis water bill relief, after city leaders pushed back an enrollment deadline that was set to expire Saturday, Oct. 31.
Mayor Cara Spencer, Public Utilities Director Niraj Patel and Chief Recovery Officer Julian Nicks announced the extension of the Tornado Recovery Water Affordability Program. About 1,200 households have applied since sign-ups began Aug. 25.
The city says far more are eligible. When the program started, 4,164 water accounts in storm-damaged neighborhoods were behind, carrying about $4.34 million in unpaid water charges. Only 600 of the applicants so far have a past-due balance, which works out to 14 percent of those delinquent accounts. Close to 1,900 of the overdue accounts owed $500 or less, and around 720 owed more than $2,000.
Every part of the program stays in place through the new date. Qualifying tornado households pay half the normal water rate through December 2028, even if they never fell behind. For accounts that are behind, that discount is applied back to May 2025 as a credit, and whatever is left can be paid off over as long as two years, with the Water Division willing to stretch some larger debts to three years. Charges on homes left unlivable since the storm are wiped out.
People who enroll owe no interest or late penalties on those balances, and the city drops its one-time fees for cutting off and restoring service. The city ended its shutoff moratorium for tornado-hit residents in August, around the time the relief options rolled out.
Sign-ups are taken online at stlrecovers.com. Residents who would rather apply face to face can go to the city’s STLRecovers Outreach Center at 4401 Natural Bridge Ave.
Section: More St. Louis MO business news
Filed under: St. Louis MO Business News
