Chances are, you get your water from a public drinking water system, even though approximately two thirds of drinking water systems in this country are non-community systems — think campgrounds and schools. And the chances are that the system that provides your water needs an upgrade. The American Society of Civil Engineers has produced the second in a series of reports grading America’s infrastructure and has given the United States a grade of “D” for its water systems. You can see an executive summary of the report here and you’ll be able to download the entire report when it is released on December 16 at the ASCE’s website.
The water systems graded include systems for drinking water, and also water for industrial processes sewage systems. The report highlights the need for major investments in our country’s water systems infrastructure and the numbers are staggering. In 2010, the country needed to spend $91 Billion but only spent $36 Billion. That gap is expected to get worse, rising to $84 Billion in 2020 and then $143 Billion in 2040.
Good thing we have lots of extra tax dollars to spend. Oh wait. We don’t. Maybe PPP’s are the solution.