Homeland Security Technologies

Sarah, Posted: August 29, 2012

PHILADELPHIA, Penn – The Water Quality and Health Council has been sending out warnings about a serious and potentially deadly problem facing the US population posed by our aging piped water infrastructure (see our “Pain at the Pipe” Part 1 and Part 2 blog posts).  We are not alone in issuing this warning.  In May, the American Water Works Association released the disturbing report:  Buried No Longer:  Confronting America’s Water Infrastructure Challenge, highlighting the serious need for water systems across North America to invest in water infrastructure.  The American Society of Civil Engineers gave the nation’s drinking water system a sorry grade of D minus in its 2009 Report Card of America’s Infrastructure.

The problem is particularly acute in the regions representing the 13 original colonies where infrastructure is older.  The average ages of water mains in Washington, DC and Philadelphia are 77 and 78 years respectively; this is comparable to the 80 year average for Richmond.  While the US also has issues with aging roads and bridges on which the country relies, the drinking water infrastructure is generally older and its failure will have more pervasive, serious and prolonged effects.  While not a pleasant thought, a bridge or road failure can be deadly and cause injuries.  Naturally, any preventative death is a tragedy, but a water system failure has the potential to cause more death and disease than most structural failures.

The residents of the City of Brotherly Love recently experienced two serious water main breaks within one week….For full article, click here.

For information on water quality monitoring, including early detection of pipe breaks and other incidents, click here.

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