PUBLICATIONS AND RESOURCES
We have created this page to post pertinent information, which may be helpful to some of our district customers. Please be aware that these publications are not ours and will often reference another water district, but are often relevant to our own district. All have been selected from reliable and creditable sources on the worldwide web.
It is our hope that this information may answer many of the common and frequent questions that we get asked on a monthly basis.
It is our hope that this information may answer many of the common and frequent questions that we get asked on a monthly basis.
Taken from National Rural Water Association Rural Water Archive Third Quarter 2020
Aging Water Infrastructure Impacts Utilities and Homeowners
BY STEVEN SPENCER
Our country’s infrastructure is aging and there is no one guiding agency or overall plan to address myriad issues, from crumbling water pipes to inflow and infiltration overloading storm and wastewater sewers.
Even as headlines warn of public health crises, federal funding of water infrastructure has dropped from 30 percent 40 years ago to single digits today, shifting much of the financial burden onto states and utilities. The American Water Works Association estimated nearly $2 trillion must be invested in the systems that 90 percent of Americans depend on for their water.
While drinking water infrastructure is funded primarily through a rate-based system, the investment has been inadequate for decades and will continue to be underfunded without significant changes as the revenue generated will fall short as needs grow.
The American Society of Civil Engineers has given the country’s water systems a D grade, warning more than two trillion gallons of treated water is lost to water main breaks every year and emerging contamination issues threaten the quality of drinking water.
While water consumption is down, there are still an estimated 240,000 water main breaks per year in the United States. Most Americans receive their water through pipes that are coming to the end of their usable lifespan of 75 to 100 years, according to the ASCE drinking water report card. Those failing systems lose six billion gallons of treated water every day, or nearly 20 percent.
The report on drinking water notes drinking water is delivered via one million miles of pipes across the country, and, although the quality of drinking water in the United States remains high, legacy and emerging contaminants continue to require close attention.
A Utah State University study found that water line breaks increased almost 30 percent from 2012 to 2018. In addition, cast iron and asbestos cement pipes—which make up more than 40 percent of installed water mains—had increased breakages of more than 40 percent over the same period, and more than 80 percent of cast iron pipes are more than 50 years old.
The problem with upkeep is the expense, as many smaller utilities don’t have the economies of scale to fall back on. Neither can utilities count on the federal government to shoulder more than a small portion, and little money is available at the state level.
States provide approximately $5.8 billion per year, usually discounted loans through Clean Water State Revolving Fund programs. At that rate, it will take nearly 40 years to make the repairs and upgrades needed by 2032.
An estimated 6.1 million water service lines are lead and on the private side of infrastructure. It would cost $30 billion to replace all lead service lines—many for which there are no records. It’s estimated that approximately 0.5 percent of these lead service lines are replaced each year, and it will take two centuries to replace them at that rate.
Since service lines are the responsibility of the homeowner and many homeowners are unaware of that, they receive little to no maintenance. In addition, many homeowners call their local utilities when a line fails, resulting in frustration when residents learn they are responsible—and they have a large water bill because their meter kept spinning while water gushed out of their service line.
When your staff is getting angry calls about high water bills from their neighbors, morale takes a hit. Even if a utility is able to write off a portion of the bill or offer a payment plan, it can still be difficult for customers to pay down the bill.
"WHILE DRINKING WATER INFRASTRUCTURE IS FUNDED PRIMARILY THROUGH A RATE-BASED SYSTEM, THE INVESTMENT HAS BEEN INADEQUATE FOR DECADES AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE UNDERFUNDED WITHOUT SIGNIFICANT CHANGES AS THE REVENUE GENERATED WILL FALL SHORT AS NEEDS GROW."
Aging Water Infrastructure Impacts Utilities and Homeowners
BY STEVEN SPENCER
Our country’s infrastructure is aging and there is no one guiding agency or overall plan to address myriad issues, from crumbling water pipes to inflow and infiltration overloading storm and wastewater sewers.
Even as headlines warn of public health crises, federal funding of water infrastructure has dropped from 30 percent 40 years ago to single digits today, shifting much of the financial burden onto states and utilities. The American Water Works Association estimated nearly $2 trillion must be invested in the systems that 90 percent of Americans depend on for their water.
While drinking water infrastructure is funded primarily through a rate-based system, the investment has been inadequate for decades and will continue to be underfunded without significant changes as the revenue generated will fall short as needs grow.
The American Society of Civil Engineers has given the country’s water systems a D grade, warning more than two trillion gallons of treated water is lost to water main breaks every year and emerging contamination issues threaten the quality of drinking water.
While water consumption is down, there are still an estimated 240,000 water main breaks per year in the United States. Most Americans receive their water through pipes that are coming to the end of their usable lifespan of 75 to 100 years, according to the ASCE drinking water report card. Those failing systems lose six billion gallons of treated water every day, or nearly 20 percent.
The report on drinking water notes drinking water is delivered via one million miles of pipes across the country, and, although the quality of drinking water in the United States remains high, legacy and emerging contaminants continue to require close attention.
A Utah State University study found that water line breaks increased almost 30 percent from 2012 to 2018. In addition, cast iron and asbestos cement pipes—which make up more than 40 percent of installed water mains—had increased breakages of more than 40 percent over the same period, and more than 80 percent of cast iron pipes are more than 50 years old.
The problem with upkeep is the expense, as many smaller utilities don’t have the economies of scale to fall back on. Neither can utilities count on the federal government to shoulder more than a small portion, and little money is available at the state level.
States provide approximately $5.8 billion per year, usually discounted loans through Clean Water State Revolving Fund programs. At that rate, it will take nearly 40 years to make the repairs and upgrades needed by 2032.
An estimated 6.1 million water service lines are lead and on the private side of infrastructure. It would cost $30 billion to replace all lead service lines—many for which there are no records. It’s estimated that approximately 0.5 percent of these lead service lines are replaced each year, and it will take two centuries to replace them at that rate.
Since service lines are the responsibility of the homeowner and many homeowners are unaware of that, they receive little to no maintenance. In addition, many homeowners call their local utilities when a line fails, resulting in frustration when residents learn they are responsible—and they have a large water bill because their meter kept spinning while water gushed out of their service line.
When your staff is getting angry calls about high water bills from their neighbors, morale takes a hit. Even if a utility is able to write off a portion of the bill or offer a payment plan, it can still be difficult for customers to pay down the bill.
"WHILE DRINKING WATER INFRASTRUCTURE IS FUNDED PRIMARILY THROUGH A RATE-BASED SYSTEM, THE INVESTMENT HAS BEEN INADEQUATE FOR DECADES AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE UNDERFUNDED WITHOUT SIGNIFICANT CHANGES AS THE REVENUE GENERATED WILL FALL SHORT AS NEEDS GROW."
