Many of the Nation’s Water Treatment Facilities Are Long Overdue for Upgrade
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, nearly $400 billion in infrastructure spending is needed over the next twenty years to ensure that Americans continue to have safe drinking water.
Thousands of miles of pipes and tens of thousands of treatment plants, storage tanks and water distribution systems are sorely in need of repair.
The EPA’s acting administrator, Bob Perciasepe, says the agency’s recently completed Drinking Water Needs Survey and Assessment indicates that many of nation’s water systems are at least 50 years old and are approaching the end of their useful lives. They are due for upgrades by 2030 at an estimated cost of almost $400 billion.
A private report reviewed in an earlier Gazette indicated that aging infrastructure is the most pressing concern within the water treatment industry itself. The report noted that most municipal water customers are not remotely aware of the true cost of providing water and the gap between the real cost and what they actually pay for public water.
