Buried No Longer: Report on America’s Water Infrastructure Challenge
American Water Works Association (AWWA) has issued a report, Buried No Longer: America’s Water Infrastructure Challenge, intended to bring the conversation about water infrastructure- the network of aging pipes through which U.S. household water is distributed – above ground.
Read the report: Buried No Longer: America’s Water Infrastructure Challenge.
After compiling a comprehensive picture of the nation’s water pipe inventory, AWWA has created an in-depth analysis of the nation’s water infrastructure renewal needs. And they’ve assigned a $1 trillion dollar plus price tag to it for the next 25 years.
Here’s a summary of what they’ve found:
1. The Needs Are Large.
2. Household Water Bills Will Go Up.
3. There Are Important Regional Differences.
4. There Are Important Differences Based on System Size.
5. The Costs Keep Coming.
6. Postponing Investment Only Makes the Problem Worse.
While the AWWA’s report offers data-filled analysis showing the extent of maintenance and repair necessary to maintain the U.S. water system, they stop short of offering solutions for financing these infrastructure investments.
So, how might one pay for a national investment of such scale?
We suggest a revisit to the report on financing sustainable water solutions, which offers a glass half-full perspective with tangible ideas on dealing with the cost of a leaky water system that loses six billion gallons of water each day. Find a summary in our March edition.
Read the report: Financing Sustainable Water Infrastructure.
The Whole HOG 