July 2016, Vol. 71 No. 7
Newsline
While Water Rates Rise, Infrastructure Remains In Jeopardy
A survey published by Circle of Blue – an award-winning network of journalists and researchers, who report on water and worldwide resource issues – reported the price of municipal water in the United States is rising faster than any other city household expense.
The network’s annual water rates tracked the municipal water and other city service prices for 30 major cities across the U.S. The survey concluded that at a time of increasing stress, utilities are working hard to balance widespread conservation with bringing in enough revenue to reinvest and rebuild aging infrastructure.
The released report highlighted the high stakes for the country’s water and wastewater systems, all while escalating risks are driving water quality and supply to the top of the public agenda. The issues are numerous, including leaky pipes that waste trillions of gallons of water each year, droughts and floods that bring financial devastation, lead contamination incidents that reveal the risks to public health and economic well-being due to the outdated infrastructure that delivers and treats the nation’s water supplies.
Meanwhile, water industry groups estimate up to $1 trillion is needed over the next 20 years to simply repair aging pipes nationwide.
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