The City of St. Louis' water department will soon get an influx of money for repairs and upgrades.
The Board of Aldermen voted unanimously on Friday to direct $5.5 million in unspent American Rescue Plan Act funds to the beleaguered water system. Mayor Cara Spencer said she will sign the legislation.
"I think we have talked as much as we need to about why water is important, so I won't belabor the point, but it is a really crucial investment to make in our water infrastructure to allow this money to go there," said the bill's primary sponsor, Alderwoman Anne Schweitzer of the 1st Ward.
ARPA funds must be spent by the end of 2026. A city review of programs identified areas including mental health care, early child education and building stabilization where departments would not be able to spend the money in time.
While no member of the board opposed the legislation, Alderwoman Sharon Tyus of the 12th Ward said it was difficult to cast her yes vote. She said the board should have acted much sooner to allocate ARPA money to water.
"We really wasted an opportunity when we did not put a substantial chunk of money aside for water and then try to match it with some kind of bond issue," she said. "Some of the very people leading it now, you could not get them to even acknowledge that was something that should have been done."
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