Centreville Flooding and Sewage Overflow Survey Dashboard

For more than 20 years, residents of the City of Centreville have experienced flooding and sewage overflows in their homes. In order to gain insight into the shared experience of residents, in the Summer and Fall of 2021, canvassers went door to door, talking with residents about their experiences.

Canvassers asked residents a handful of questions.

  • How long have you lived here? 
  • Do you own your home? 
  • When was the last time your home flooded? For how many years have you experienced flooding?
  • When was the last time you had sewage overflow into your home? For how many years have you experienced sewage overflows?

The group of canvassers knocked on the majority of doors in Centreville. 

 

They knocked on a total of 1,438 doors. From those doors, 4,369 people were canvassed. 609 surveys were completed by people who own their homes. Of the blocks surveyed, within the last 5 years, 65% experienced flooding and 47% experienced sewage overflows.

Findings: Flooding is pervasive; Sewage overflows are too. 

The dashboard linked below visualizes responses by homeowners.

View the Interactive Dashboard

  • Over half of the households surveyed experienced flooding or sewage overflows. Almost a quarter have experienced both.
  • Both flooding and sewage overflows occur in all residential areas of Centreville. 
  • Still, some concentrated areas of impact can be identified from the mapped survey responses.

Who’s impacted?

Centreville residents are majority Black. The 2020 American Community survey estimates that in the areas surveyed…
  • 33.9% of individuals are living below the poverty level. 
  • 4,799 families are living below the poverty level. 
  • 2,045 households include one or more people under 18 years.
  • 50% of units are owner-occupied.
*Based on 2020 ACS 5-Year Estimates Subject Tables for the Census Tracts surveyed (5025, 5026.02, 5026.03, 5027, 5028, 5029, 5032.11).

For more information on Centreville and the flooding and sewage crisis, please visit “Flooded and Forgotten”

Equity Legal Services & Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing & Opportunity Council

Project developed with support from the Joyce Foundation.