A closer look at water infrastructure

Sometimes it seems as if Malverne and the surrounding areas are alone in complaining about problems with brown water.

It turns out that they are not.

According to a 2013 study conducted by the American Society of Civil Engineers, much of the drinking water infrastructure in the U.S. is nearing the end of its useful life. An estimated 240,000 water main breaks occur each year, usually because most pipes and mains are more than 100 years old and in need of replacement.

Despite that, outbreaks of disease attributable to drinking water are rare, according to the report, which emphasizes the importance of the timely replacement of the country’s aging infrastructure.

A 2012 report issued by the American Water Works Association, titled “Buried No Longer: Confronting America’s Water Infrastructure Challenge,” states: “Delaying [water infrastructure] investment can result in degrading water service, increasing water service disruptions, and increasing expenditures for emergency repairs. Ultimately we will have to face the need to ‘catch up’ with past deferred investments, and the more we delay, the harder the job will be when the day of reckoning comes.”

Gregory DeLoreto, past president of the American Society of Civil Engineers, agrees. “That’s true with any kind of infrastructure,” he told the Herald. “The more … years you put it off, the worse it gets.”

The ASCE’s 2013 study also pointed out that pipe repairs will account for 75 percent of the cost of keeping the nation’s drinking water clean. Because pipes are buried underground, and unseen and unheard from unless there is a problem, DeLoreto stressed that one of the most effective, and cost-effective, ways to prioritize repair is a structural assessment that determines which pipes are in the worst condition, and should be addressed first.