After several days of heavy rain dumped one to three inches across the St. Louis metro area, Wildwood homeowners dealing with soggy yards have a financial incentive to fix the problem: the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) will reimburse up to $4,000 for rainscaping improvements that keep stormwater on your property and out of the sewer system. Chesterfield-area residents may also qualify and should check MSD's online eligibility map to confirm.

The MSD Rainscaping Small Grants program covers permeable pavers, native plants with deep roots and rain gardens. Homeowners pay for the work upfront, then submit a completion packet to get reimbursed. The current $4,000 cap for residential projects took effect Oct. 1, 2025, up from $3,000 previously.

"We have a lot of impervious surface area in the city, which means the rain just hits it and it runs into our drains, so the more that we can encourage homeowners and businesses to keep it on their site, the better it is for the region," Jenna Jarvis, MSD's green infrastructure manager, told First Alert 4 on Thursday, Aug. 6.

Wildwood's City Council unanimously approved an intergovernmental agreement with MSD in February, giving the city direct access to the district's stormwater grant funding.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis with no deadline. The next in-person orientation session is Wednesday, Aug. 12, from 6–8 p.m. at St. Louis County Library's Florissant Valley Branch. A recorded video orientation is also available. MSD requires applicants to attend an orientation and receive a Notice to Proceed before starting any work.

Last season, more than 100 applications received funding totaling over $425,000 through the program, which is administered in partnership with the Missouri Botanical Garden's Sustainability Division.

Applications must be mailed or hand-delivered to MSD Project Clear Rainscaping Small Grants, c/o Missouri Botanical Garden – Sustainability Division, 4651 Shaw Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63110. Questions can go to [email protected] or 314-577-0202.