Too Many Zeros

By Davies Hood, Induron Executive Vice President

Today’s economy is tough. Money is hard to come by in both the public and private sectors. And while you and I are trying to make ends meet and ride out the economic storm, the politicians in Washington are gearing up for “another” election cycle that seems to be another excuse for inaction.

All the while, our nation’s aging water infrastructure – much of which was installed at the turn of the 20th century – continues to deteriorate. But there’s an article entitled “Water Infrastructure Could Burden U.S. Economy, Report Claims” in the January 2012 issue of WaterWorld that puts the cold hard numbers to repair cost.

It may not seem like a big enough deal to even justify my writing about it, but consider the effect on the economy if American businesses are hit with hundreds of billions of dollars to rectify the problem. Your individual water bills will go up, too, and thousands of jobs will be lost.

There are too many zeros in the total amount that will be needed to repair the system. “The longer we wait to make needed repairs and upgrades, the more acute these problems become and the higher the cost to American families and businesses.”

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