US DRINKING WATER SYSTEMS CRUMBLING

Submitted by ub on

A new report warns US drinking water systems require $384 billion in repairs.

Our nation’s aging drinking water infrastructure suffers an average of 700 water main breaks a day and will require an investment of $384 billion through 2030 in order for service to remain reliable, according to a new report released by The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

This is the fifth “Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment” report prepared by the EPA as required by the 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments. The assessment estimates the needs of 73,400 water systems across the country and focuses on expansion, replacement, and rehabilitation projects eligible for funding through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF).

The nation’s aging transmission and distribution systems represent 64.4 percent of the total need, at $247.5 billion. This figure represents the advancing age of some systems, the extensive amount of buried infrastructure, and the great expense to repair or replace it, especially in urban areas. The EPA calculated the figures based on an assumption of a minimum 10 percent replacement rate over a 20-year period, although some systems are undergoing projects that cover a higher percentage than that.

What is Congress doing about this? Why don't you ask your representative?

http://water.epa.gov/grants_funding/dwsrf/upload/epa816r13006.pdf