Subsidized Water

Future Water

Most Americans drink subsidized tap water.

Sure most homes that use municipal water services typically pay for water and sewer services, but the bill that is paid almost never equals the true cost of the delivery of the water or the sewage treatment that follows.  As a country we have decided to make water and sewer service as close to a human right as possible.

                        In his December article, The Aging Water Infrastructure Dilemma, Gregory M. Baird stated, “Most of our nation’s water and wastewater systems are underground and had been hidden out of the public view, in many cases for over a century.” The United States installed a large number of pipes in three main time periods based on population growth in the 1800s, 1900 to 1945, and post 1945. There are over 155,000 public drinking water systems in America today. There is a tremendous amount of costs associated with the renewal and replacement of our water and wastewater systems.

                        In 2002 the American Society of Civil Engineers said, “A Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimated that community water systems nationwide have an immediate need of $12.1 billion in infrastructure investment, primarily to protect against microbiological contamination.” Today the cost to rebuild infrastructure is estimated to be in the $120 billion range. Cities, states and the Federal Government must subsidize the costs associated with the proposed rebuilding effort.

                        And yet, according to the reports from the EPA, the quality of the tap water that we receive is decreasing every year as new lists of chemical compounds are discovered to be present. In general, the price of water in the United States has little to do with supply and demand. Municipalities and regulators typically set rates as low as possible, so much so that 30 percent of all water utilities operate at a loss or a deficit.

A REAL LIFE EXAMPLE   

                        In a real life case of infrastructure subsidies in February of 2011 in Auburn, Georgia, the annexation of Green Tree Acres community of twenty-five homes raised alarm about the actual cost to the city to provide a water main, fire hydrants and water service to each of the homes. “Green Tree Acres property owners favor the annexation because their private well and distribution system built in 1980 are showing signs of wearing out,” according to city planner Larry Lucas.

                        With the $91,250 in waived fees and the initial estimate $50,000 for a 12-inch water main, 25 household water meters, neighborhood fire hydrants, and other materials, the combined fiscal impact would be $141,250. The annexed lots, which are developed with mobile homes and single-family houses, would yield only $2,585 annually in city property taxes, according the staff’s report in the meeting packet.  This is a costly example of city subsidization of water infrastructure for only twenty-five homes. What will the cost be to renew infrastructure for the millions of homes in America?

United States Southwest:

Too Many People, Not Enough Water

                        The prestigious Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) published an impressive collection of papers in December on the future of water resources in the southwestern United States. The authors' consensus bears out what those who live in the Southwest already know pretty well: They are headed for a water crisis that will cause shortages and conflict for the tens of millions of humans living in the region, and likely disaster for many of its other species. As one of the authors points out, one look at Lake Mead -- the water-storage reservoir on the Nevada-Arizona border that's now less than 40-percent full, an all-time low -- is worth a thousand words.

In a paper named, The Last Drop: Climate Change and the Southwest Water Crisis Copyright © 2011 by the Stockholm Environment Institute, very dire warnings about the future of water in the Southwest of America were presented.

                        The authors said that. “At present, without climate change, the Southwest is relying on the unsustainable withdrawal of groundwater reserves to meet today’s demand; those reserves will be drained over the next century as population and incomes grow. With climate change, the Southwest water crisis will grow far worse.” 

SO, WHAT'S THE ANSWER?

Are you ready for 99.99% Pure Water?

The WaterCycle™ is now Available for Office, Hotels & Homes

Reprinted in part with permission.
For more information, contact me via email at: littlehales@att.net