The average person has no idea about the issues surrounding water according to an October 2009 WaterWorld article entitled The Illusion of Abundance, by Dave Angelo. It is now three years, five months later and I wondered if anything has changed with regard to the average person’s knowledge of our most precious resource, water. After all, more people than ever are connected to the internet. The global use of smartphones, tablets and computers makes information readily available.
Quotes from that 2009 article provide a baseline for comparison:
“In spite of $1 trillion having been spent on water compliance issues over the last 30 years:
· 45-50 million Americans are exposed to unsafe water
· One-half of the major US watersheds have serious water quality issues
· One-half of the communities do not comply with CWA or CSO laws
· 218 million Americans live within 10 miles of polluted waterways
Also … at least 2.6 billion people, some 41 percent of the global population, do not have access to any sort of basic sanitation facilities.”
Fast forward to May 2012. In a December 2012 article entitled, Public or Private, the Question is how to pay for it, Water/Wastewater Processing, by Kathy Shandling. Kathy notes
“According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), there is close to a $1.0 trillion infrastructure investment need in this country’s water and wastewater systems over the next 20 years. More importantly, it is anticipated that there will be a 20-year infrastructure investment gap of $102 billion for drinking water systems and $122 billion for wastewater systems. The operations and maintenance gap is even larger - $161 billion for drinking water systems and $148 billion for wastewater systems.”
So much for needing to spend less money in the future than we have spent in the past. Clearly, the $1.0 trillion spent over the last 30 years (prior to 2009) wasn’t enough, if we need to spend $1.0 trillion over the next 20 years (starting in 2013), especially if we will have a significant short fall.
It is interesting to note that 2012 marked the 40th anniversary of the Clean Water Act (CWA). Passed in 1972, this act was designed to (from Productivity Perspectives, Water/Wastewater processing, Dec 2012, by Kevin Parker):
1. Eliminate releases of high amounts of toxic substances into water
2. Eliminate water pollution
3. Ensure surface waters meet established standards
Has this legislation had any impact on our water/wastewater supply systems and the public perception of these systems? The answer is yes and no.
According to Kevin Parker:
“A story in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, highlights an announcement by Minnesota state officials that more than a decade to work to clean up wastewater including millions of dollars spent on construction, and new technology, has made the ‘lower reach of the Minnesota River a much healthier place for aquatic life’.”
Additionally, Parker notes:
“Pollution caused by wastewater effluents has been reduced to such an extent that today non-point source pollutants such as sediments, nutrients, pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, animal wastes and other substances entering the water supply as components of run-off and groundwater account for more than 50% of pollution in U.S. waters.”
Clearly, water/wastewater suppliers have made some progress due to legislation such as the Clean Water Act and its corollary, the Safe Drinking Water Act. Eliminating waste water effluents by 50% is definitely progress.
Has legislation had an impact? A November 2012 article about Hurricane Sandy comes to mind. Michael Peltz, editor, Institutional Investor Magazine wrote Long Day’s Journey in the Dark. He notes:
“I would have made a terrible pioneer. When Hurricane Sandy slammed into the New York tristate region on October 29, I was … working in my home on the North shore of Long Island …. My wife, daughter and I lost power that evening about 6:30 pm. At first it was fun. We cooked dinner by candlelight, played card games and put on layers of clothes to stay warm before climbing into bed. But ten days later, as I sit huddled in my darkened house writing this, the novelty is gone.”
He sums up by saying:
“Politicians need to reach a compromise to avoid plunging the U. S. over the fiscal cliff because a much bigger question is lurking. The U.S. aging power grid and transportation system. In its most recent report card, the American society of Civil Engineers gave the U. S. infrastructure an overall grade of D, or poor, and estimated it would cost $2.2 trillion over five years to raise that grade. After 10 days and counting of sleeping in a cold dark house, I am hoping that it doesn’t take another natural disaster for Washington to find the political will to tackle the U.S. infrastructure troubles.”
In my opinion, our government and the political process is totally out of touch with the needs of our country and its citizens. It can’t even follow through with existing legislation. Because of this, as a country, we are becoming much less competitive globally as our critical infrastructure declines. So much for lofty speeches and the grand sideshow that hallmarks our political system and media.
How has the decline in our critical infrastructure systems impacted the perceptions of the average person? Numerous articles, papers and books have been written about the decline in our infrastructure, including the water/wastewater components. Most Americans have access to this information.
Again according to an article entitled Gauging Industry’s role in water reuse, December 2012, Water/Waste processing, the public’s education seems lagging.
“Industrial conglomerate GE has released the results of the survey of 3000 consumers in the United States, China and Singapore. It indicates that Americans believe large water users are most responsible for contributing to water scarcity. Additionally, they strongly support reusing water to help the U.S. drive economic competitiveness and protect the environment. Yet, Americans understanding of water lifestyles and solutions falls behind those of survey participants in other water challenged countries.”
The survey notes that Americans feel water is the single most important service they receive, beating electricity and heat. Yet 31% of Americans don’t know where their water come from, compared to only 14% of those in China and 15% of those in Singapore. Less than half know how their water is cleaned for community use (47%) and how water is disposed of after it’s been used (49%).
According to the survey:
“When asked about a series of terms relating to water, Americans have the least familiarity with the terms of recycled water (60%) and water reuse (51%). Conversely more than 8 of 10 respondents in China were familiar with these terms and feel more positive about them.”
“Despite a lack of understanding of water, Americans are clearly concerned about water scarcity and the availability and quality of water for the future. The survey shows Americans will support using recycled water for many nondrinking uses which currently use a large volumes of freshwater - and believe we should do so to maintain economic growth. In fact, many are willing to pay a bit more now to ensure clean water down the line.”
In a December 2012 article entitled Election Behind Us, We Keep Marching Forward, James Laughlin, editor, WaterWorld, noted:
“While water was never an issue in the presidential [Obama-Romney] campaign, I’m happy to say it was an issue on the Oklahoma ballot. State voters approved a measure that allows the Oklahoma Water Resources Board issue up to 300 million in bonds help on drinking water and wastewater needs across state.”
Laughlin continues:
“With Obama secure for another term, I expect EPA will move ahead with new drinking water regulations and continue its push for compliance of clean water act rules. It will be business as usual, and the next four years will probably look very much like the last four, in terms of Washington.”
In another December 2012 WaterWorld article entitled Obama reelection could accelerate drinking water regulation by Patrick Crow it is noted:
“Water infrastructure investments are mandatory if the nation is to avoid extreme water events like hurricane Sandy, the water environmental Federation (WEF) said after the November election. WEF Executive Director Jeff Eiger said replacing the nation’s aging water infrastructure is one of the key problems the Obama administration faces over the next four years.
Our central water infrastructure is failing and is woefully inadequate to address the new normal weather patterns. Restoring existing drinking water systems and expanding them to serve a growing population will cost at least $1 trillion over the next 25 years.
Eiger said, ‘with millions of Americans out of work the timing could not be better to reinvest in our water infrastructure, create jobs, boost the nation’s economy, and get more prepared for the next wet weather emergency’.”
“For water, I think 2013 will be another year of hardship. For sewage, another year standing pat. Beyond 2013, we will see gradual improvement from the current situation.” According to another December 2012 WaterWorld article entitled Pace of Construction Expected to Remain Flat in 2013.
The Mississippi state Department of Health published three indicators which show that its drinking water supply system is gradually improving. These indicate rank 1,200 public water systems every year based on technical, managerial and financial capabilities.
The December 2012 issue of Water Technology notes:
“Casper College in Casper Wyoming will be able continue providing training for safe drinking water production with a $100,000 grant from the Environment Protection Agency (EPA). The grant will allow the college to continue the training program for the next three years. The grant will be used to offer training in the proper operations and maintenance of public water systems with classics focusing on small public water supplies (PES), transient nontransparent water systems, groundwater systems and surface water system operations.”
A January 2013 Water Technology Around the Industry article notes:
“The State of Illinois will benefit from a new $1 billion initiative the will help secure safe drinking water. Currently, residents are receiving water through water mains that are nearly 100 years old and are in dire need of being replaced.”
While water providers are struggling to maintain a very aging and out of date water/wastewater supply system, the population and the amount of water used continues to increase. This trend is going to continue because of rising standards of living around the globe.
Yet, even in our globally connected, technology driven world, hundreds, if not thousands, of people die every day around the world from the lack of clean water. Can you name any other disease or illness that affects that many lives every single day? If an equivalent number of people died because of plane crashes, or traffic accidents, the awareness of water issues would be much higher and probably solutions would happen much quicker.
Science tells us that there’s the same amount of water on earth as there was 1 million years ago. Clearly, from a water information standpoint, the education of the average citizen in the United States is not getting much better. If it were, then things would have changed from October 2009, when my article The Illusion of Abundance was written. We still believe that water, which is our most precious resource, is limitless. Without an educated and involved public, I don’t hold much hope that this perception will change until it is too late.
H. Court Young
