Drinking water systems imperiled by failing infrastructure
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Deep inside a 70-year-old water-treatment plant, drinking water for Iowa's capital city is cleansed of harmful nitrates that come from the state's famously rich farmland.
Around the country, scores of decaying drinking water systems built around the time of World War II and earlier are in need of replacement.
At stake is the continued availability of clean, cheap drinking water — a public health achievement that has fueled the nation's growth for generations.
"The future is getting a little dark for something as basic and fundamental as water," said Adam Krantz of the Water Infrastructure Network, a lobbying group that is fighting cuts to key federal water programs.
If they want this system, they are going to have to be willing to finance it, said Greg DiLoreto, past president of the American Society of Civil Engineers, which has warned of a future with more equipment failures that will disrupt water service, transportation and commerce.
New valves to control water flow, new pumping stations to keep up pressure and new tanks to store water are also needed.
Many of these pressures are colliding in Des Moines, where the utility is considering a rate hike for customers of about 10 percent for next year.
Des Moines Water Works is fighting nitrate levels that are often far above the federal standard for safety in the two rivers that provide its source water.
The water agency has taken the unprecedented step of suing three major Iowa farming counties in federal court to try to limit the farm discharges.