The water base in our country is over one hundred years old, so an upgrade is long overdue. The American Water Works Association concludes that restoring the obsolete water infrastructure in the country would take at least $1 trillion. All the public awareness to the water infrastructure was caused by the current water crisis in Flint, Michigan. While the episode was tragic, it started the nation’s “eyes” to the little-known water infrastructure difficulty being experienced across the United States. It also drew anger and emotions, which are the important drivers for change.

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Water Piping Infrastructure

The current water pipes used to provide water to homes, businesses, schools and industrial buildings were placed at various times and were made from different elements and manufacturing methods. Therefore, they have various life prospects. Cast iron pipes have a lifespan of about 120 years and were launched in the late 19th century. On the other hand, plastic iron pipes have an average life outlook of 50 to 70 years and were introduced in the 1950’s.

The water tubes used in many towns across the United States were placed between 70 to 90 years ago. In Washington DC, the normal age of existing water pipes is 77 years. This is an absolute scandal considering that the United States is the most developed nation in the world as well as the wealthiest nation on the planet, but it’s not able to produce clean drinking water to it’s people safely and efficiently. Take the case of Flint, MI, where the town supplied dirty water polluted with unbelievable amounts of lead. This was a perfect example of areas in which the nation is lagging behind. Every year, an average of 240,000 water breaks are reported. The cost of fixing these broken pipes is amazingly high. In fact, 75% of the price of drinking water can be attached to pipe repair costs. On average, 1.7 trillion gallons of water is spent every year due to broken pipes and loss of pipe replacement.

America’s Water Infrastructure is Falling Apart

Now, 156,000 public water systems produce clean drinking water to around 320 million people through 700,000 miles of piping crisscrossing the country. According to the American Water Works Association, 40% of the country’s water infrastructure is rated poor. The American Society for Civil Engineers has provided the United States a D+ grade for the poor state of its water base. This is surprising considering the country is a first-world country. In February, 2015, over 100,000 gallons of water leaked into area streets of Hollywood Hills, CA. This was a considerable wastage that was blamed on obsolete plumbing, which cost the town a lot of money. Residents were also negatively affected since they did not have water in their taps for some days.

Fixing Our Water Infrastructure

An expense of more than $1 trillion is needed to change the buried water infrastructure nationwide over the next 25 years. This is if pipes are restored at the end of their valuable life. Replacement needs account for 54% of the national investment with 46% going to the expansion of new pipes. This guarantees that more areas get clean drinking water while obsolete water supply lines are restored at the same time.

According to the EPA, the United States needs to spend around $384.2 billion over the following 20 years to guarantee continuation of safe water supply. In January 2016, Mark Dayton, the governor of Minnesota, unveiled an enthusiastic plan for modernizing the states aging water supply by funding $220 million to fix pipes and plants that treat the state’s drinking water and sewage. This is the most enthusiastic effort in recent history to fix the aging water base in the country. It is essential to note that for decades, lead pipes were managed to supply drinking water, but the element has now been declared irrelevant because it is known to contaminate water with heavy doses of lead, which is amazingly harmful to the human body. For instance, long-term exposure to lead can decrease a child’s ability to learn as it affects the nervous system and brain growth. In adults, long-term illness to lead can increase the risk of kidney damage and high blood stress. That is why the case in Flint, Michigan, got a lot of national coverage.

In Lansing, Michigan, the Board of Water and Light has restored over 13,500 lead water pipes in an ambitious $42 million plan whose implementation began in 2004. Currently, there are only 650 pipes to go. This is one of the many nearing fulfillment projects and a case study for other local governments to emulate. An advance in new infrastructure is a sound one because it guarantees that local residents get clean drinking water over the next century and decreases repair costs and wastage of water resulting from pipe cracks. In the long term hence, both the government and local citizens will get many advantages.

Buchanan County, Virginia, is one of the ten local authorities to get a total of $500,000 from the Environmental Protection Agency through the Water Community Assistance for Resiliency and Excellence plan, generally referred to as WaterCARE. The program is intended to help small towns in upgrading their water systems. To qualify for WaterCARE, a city must have a population of less than 100,000 citizens. The funds given by the EPA are only meant for potential building, not the actual infrastructure construction. The city must also have below-average median household revenue and a need to direct public health challenges. WaterCARE supports communities in improving financial planning strategies for wastewater and drinking water infrastructure development and administration.

While many projects are being implemented across the United States, the country still has a long way to guarantee that every citizen has safe drinking water over the next 100 years. More water infrastructure development projects are currently underway and local governments are still debating others.