Wake Up New York: Water Infrastructure In Peril

Experts say New Yorkers need to pay more attention to their massive water infrastructure problem.

An editorial in the New York Daily News by urban policy journalist and City Limits editor Jarrett Murphy summarized the situation like this: “Through most of our recent history, New Yorkers could be blissfully unworried about water. It arrived at faucet spouts and shower heads via nameless streams, distant reservoirs and subterranean pipes. Catch basins, drains and toilets whisked rainwater and wastewater out of sight. But the days of taking Gotham’s water for granted must come to an end.”

Murphy compared New Yorkers’ unworried attitudes to the “angst” in California, where water is a constant conversation topic because of the drought. He pointed out that despite public nonchalance in New York, the state does have massive water infrastructure challenges. He delineated a few:

“Problems are bubbling to the surface. Upstate communities complain about the effect watershed protection has had on local economies. Neighbors of the $3 billion Croton filtration plant that recently opened in the Bronx (years behind schedule) are still rankled by the huge cost overruns at a site that was supposed to save us money,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, costs are soaring as the city attempts to keep its aging infrastructure in working condition.

“The city may be forced to undertake huge and costly projects to cover the Hillview Reservoir, remove chlorine from its treated water and address pollution that comes from storm-water runoff. Water rates, meanwhile, have climbed steadily over the past 20 years, and are now a significant factor in housing affordability,” he wrote.

Water loss due to infrastructure challenges is another of the city’s top problems, according to WNYC and City Limits, in a series focused on “the $10 billion worth of projects that are prompting the rate increases.” A major source of water loss is the Delaware Aqueduct, a massive concrete tunnel built in the ‘40s. The series reported in a close-up on the aqueduct:

“In two places the aqueduct runs through limestone, which, according to Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Adam Bosch, ‘is crumbly and not supportive of tunneling.’ In fact, limestone absorbs water, which is why the engineers at the time decided to line these sections with steel. But, they didn't line them all the way through the limestone sections. Cracks and small holes in the concrete have since developed. What this means is that up to 35 million gallons of water are being lost each day.”

For more news on communicating the value of water, visit Water Online’s Consumer Outreach Solutions Center.

http://www.wateronline.com/doc/wake-up-new-york-water-infrastructure-in-peril-0001