The High Costs of America's Aging Water Infrastructure

As part of its extensive coverage of water issues in the U.S., The New York Times looks at the aging water systems that plague American cities and what it would cost to fix them.

1 minute read

March 16, 2010, 11:00 AM PDT

By Nate Berg


"Today, a significant water line bursts on average every two minutes somewhere in the country, according to a New York Times analysis of Environmental Protection Agency data.

In Washington alone there is a pipe break every day, on average, and this weekend's intense rains overwhelmed the city's system, causing untreated sewage to flow into the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers.

State and federal studies indicate that thousands of water and sewer systems may be too old to function properly."

The EPA estimated in 2009 that it would take more than $300 billion to revamp the nation's aging water infrastructure.

Sunday, March 14, 2010 in The New York Times

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