XML FeedsWater pipelines across US breaking
By CostBenefit on Jul 7, 2008 | In Water, U.S., New York State, Newspaper/Mag/TV/Media Story, Costs and Benefits | Send feedback »
Link: http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest%2BNews/World/STIStory_225385.html
Two hours north of New York City, a mile-long stream and a marsh the size of a football field have mysteriously formed along a country road. They are such a marvel that people come from miles around to drink the crystal-clear water, believing it is bubbling up from a hidden natural spring.
The truth is far less romantic: The water is coming from a cracked 70-year-old tunnel hundreds of feet below ground, scientists say.
The tunnel is leaking up to 136 million litres a day as it carries drinking water from a reservoir to the big city. It is a powerful warning sign of a larger problem around the country....
The Environmental Protection Agency says utilities will need to invest more than US$277 billion (S$382 billion) over the next two decades on repairs and improvements to drinking water systems. Water industry engineers put the figure drastically higher, at about US$480 billion.
Water utilities, largely managed by city governments, have never faced improvements of this magnitude before.
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Utilities currently spend about US$10.4 billion annually on large-scale repairs and improvements on drinking water infrastructure, a figure that has been relatively flat during the past two decades, the EPA said.
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Repairs tend to be long and costly, especially since many systems were built nearly a century ago, deep underground, where buildings and major roads now stand.
Even monitoring pipes for vulnerabilities can be expensive and tricky
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New York has spent decades digging a new US$6 billion tunnel that will create an alternative source of water delivery and allow for easier inspection and repair of the other tunnels. It is expected to be completed by 2020.
Around the country, water rates are going up to help pay for the repairs, estimated at anywhere between US$550 and US$7,000 per household during the next three decades.
Many engineers and water utilities say water bills around the country are too low. In New York City, where a studio apartment can rent for more than US$3,000 a month, the cost of water and sewage is about US$60 For an entire single-family home.
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The Straits Times www.straitstimes.com (Singapore)
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http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest%2BNews/World/STIStory_225385.html
April 9, 2008
