Flooding

The cash will funnel through the Army Corps of Engineers to the city. In all, the project to help repair the city’s main trunk line will cost $4.67 million.

Residents have dealt with sewage flooding their homes and neighborhoods after heavy rains for years. With a new grant from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Cahokia Heights plans to complete repairs in February 2026.

While the Mississippi River produced major flooding in parts of northern Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota, it is expected to crest well below serious flood levels in the St. Louis area this weekend.

Many cities in the Upper Midwest have seen the river already reach its crest, as the water moves down through the system.

The mayors and the director of the Metro East Sanitary District said other, wealthier St. Clair County communities should help pay for a key drainage ditch’s maintenance.

St. Louis, St. Louis County and St. Clair County will receive more than $112 million in federal funding to help families recover from flooding and build resiliency for low- and moderate-income populations. Federal officials say the funding will help address the damage from recent floods and help the region prepare for future disasters.

Cahokia Heights, long plagued with a faulty sewer system, will receive a grant from the Illinois EPA.

Raw sewage backups and chronic flooding have been a decades-long issue in Centreville, now Cahokia Heights. Residents previously filed two federal lawsuits over these issues in 2020 and 2021.

Modern riverfront developments face a reality of accommodating a river that’s seeing major floods and droughts with more frequency.

The maps, which have not been updated since 2003, depict the danger presented to home and property owners.