Circle Of Blue | By: Codi Kozacek | GPE – July 26, 2017:
Trust, cooperate, and innovate for safe water and thriving communities.
Originally published May 16, 2016: America’s substantial water challenges are not secret any longer. Cities poisoned by lead-contaminated drinking water and toxic algae, along with crippling droughts and dwindling groundwater reserves, make it increasingly clear that the nation’s water systems urgently require an overhaul.
That was the consensus view of experts convened this week (May 2016) in New York City during H2O Catalyst, an interactive town hall event broadcast live by Circle of Blue with American Public Media and Columbia University.
Listeners from around the world joined the H2O Catalyst broadcast, which focused on the extent of repairs needed to upgrade old and inadequate pipes and treatment plants, and redesign the way water is collected and treated.
All will require:
- Massive financial and political investments.
- Reshaping how Americans view the relationship between water providers and consumers.
“More and more people are looking at water as a national issue, they are looking at water as a generator of jobs, of economic development.” –Diane VanDe Hei, executive director, Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies
A report released Tuesday by the American Society of Civil Engineers found that necessary water infrastructure investment in the United States is set to face a funding gap of $US 105 billion over the next decade.
That doesn’t take into account the estimated $US 30 to $US 40 billion it would take to replace more than 7.3 million lead service lines across the country, a move many have called for in the wake of the lead-contaminated drinking water crisis in Flint, Michigan.
Overall, the funding gap for infrastructure needs in the water, electricity, and transportation sectors totals $US 1.4 trillion over the next decade, according to the report.
To read full article – please click here.
