The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency estimates the nation's 73,000-plus water delivery systems will need
upgrades over the next two decades totaling about $384 billion, according to a
survey made public last month. On a per-person basis, Arkansas, Nevada and Iowa
have the costliest needs, according the data. The expected tabs are lowest in
Tennessee, South Carolina and Rhode Island.
Other studies have pegged the need
far higher. In a 2012 report that accounted for added demands due to population
growth, the American Water Works Association estimates the need for upgrades at
closer to $1 trillion, with the biggest price tags in the rapidly-growing West
and South. The numbers don't include wastewater treatment upgrades, which the group
says will cost just as much.
Jim Taft, head of the Association of
State Drinking Water Administrators, said both of those studies provide helpful
windows into what states and localities are facing. "Whether it's $380
billion or $1 trillion, there's a vast difference between what's required and
what's appropriated."
* From Stateline, a nonpartisan, nonprofit news service of the Pew Charitable Trusts that provides daily reporting and analysis on trends in state policy.
* From Stateline, a nonpartisan, nonprofit news service of the Pew Charitable Trusts that provides daily reporting and analysis on trends in state policy.
