{"id":577769,"date":"2010-05-25T10:30:07","date_gmt":"2010-05-25T14:30:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.epa.gov\/blog\/?p=2650"},"modified":"2010-05-25T10:30:07","modified_gmt":"2010-05-25T14:30:07","slug":"the-cracks-beneath-the-street","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/577769","title":{"rendered":"The Cracks BENEATH The Street"},"content":{"rendered":"

So, I am sitting in my Project 52, which those of you who spend time on whitewater rivers will know to be a kayak.\u00a0 The river level is up, which makes for lots of company on the water and the guy I am chatting with asks me what I do for work.\u00a0 \u201cI work for EPA on water infrastructure sustainability<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0 His reaction is typical – no idea what that means.\u00a0 But he kayaks and has some interest in water and seems up for the explanation.<\/p>\n

Most folks I know don\u2019t think much about where their water comes from, where it ends up when it goes down the drain, or the extensive \u2019infrastructure\u2019 systems that take care of all that.\u00a0 The ones I have cornered \u2013 like that kayaker \u2013 now know that those \u2018water infrastructure\u2019 systems of pipes and treatment plants are in quiet crisis.\u00a0 Our utilities have done a great job of providing us with safe water to drink and collecting and treating wastewater before discharge, usually into a nearby waterway (that some of us kayak in).\u00a0 But many utilities have underinvested in renewing those systems.\u00a0 And a BIG bill is coming due.<\/p>\n

We need to start replacing that stuff at a rate that is sustainable.\u00a0 I have heard estimates that we replace about 0.5% of water distribution pipes a year.\u00a0 That would mean we expect those pipes to last, on average, for 200 years.\u00a0 Not likely.\u00a0 NOT sustainable\u2026<\/p>\n

Nationwide, annual utility revenues are roughly $25 billion less than what a sustainable replacement pace would require.\u00a0 We can cover a good portion of that through efficiency and I coordinate a slew of programs to help utilities cut costs and make the most of every dollar. \u00a0But utility revenues \u2013 and so the price of water services \u2013 are also going to have to go up to close that gap<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So next time you hear that water or sewer rates might go up, think about how you depend on those services.\u00a0 Think about how much you spend on cable T.V. or your cell phone (typically MORE than on water services).\u00a0\u00a0 Lots of folks have very tight budgets, no question \u2013but if we want to continue to enjoy fabulous water services, we are all going to have to help keep our utilities \u2026.\u2018afloat.\u2019<\/p>\n

To tune in more to the issue, join us at our facebook page:\u00a0 EPA \u2013 Water Is Worth It<\/a>.<\/p>\n

About the Author:\u00a0\u00a0 Andy Crossland is the Sustainable Infrastructure Coordinator for EPA’s Office of Water.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So, I am sitting in my Project 52, which those of you who spend time on whitewater rivers will know to be a kayak.\u00a0 The river level is up, which makes for lots of company on the water and the guy I am chatting with asks me what I do for work.\u00a0 \u201cI work for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6809,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-577769","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/577769","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6809"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=577769"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/577769\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=577769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=577769"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=577769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}