It is a huge problem. A lot of the infrastructure is well past it’s estimated life-span. Our grandparents and their parents paid (via taxes) to install the water infrastructure that we all take for granted, but it is now all falling apart. Some pipes are upwards of 100 years old. It’s similar to an old man with lots of cholesterol — the pipe may have been installed as an 18″ pipe, but “plaque” has built up within the pipe, essentially making it a 3-4″ pipe. Not to mention corrosion, rust, and root damage. We are due for a ton of hurt when it comes to our water systems.
It should also be noted that the initial infrastructure was paid for by grants by the federal government. Those grants don’t exist any more. That is why water prices are so low compared to other commodities — the initial systems were so expensive to install, future maintenance was never priced in. Like gas, we have been spoiled by subsidies. The real costs of clean and safe water delivery have never been reflected in our water bills, but they will have to be if we want to fix the problem.
Most people don’t realize that there are actually 3 independent water systems – drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater. If one of the systems mixes with another, that’s where we run into problems (polluted beaches, erosion, water borne illness). When one system fails the other two are affected.
All of us have to realize that water is not cheap, and not easy to deliver and take away (wastewater). Everyone loves water, but no one wants to pay for it. Try living even a day without using a single drop of water. That will put things quickly in perspective.
But of course, no one wants to pay taxes to improve the systems until it’s too late and ends up costing us 4x more than it would have to do preventative maintenance.
Unfortunately I think it’s going to take sickness from a water-borne disease on a massive scale to wake everyone up to the problems.
