NESC Media Room
Background
Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Facts
Clean, safe drinking water and adequate wastewater treatment are two of life's basic necessities. Properly functioning water and wastewater infrastructure are, therefore, critical to public and environmental health.
Progress is Ongoing
For most of us, it's easy to take water for granted. But not that long ago, most people didn't have indoor plumbing.
- As recently as 1950, a quarter of America's homes had no flush toilet, with some states topping 50 percent. i
- California has the highest number of housing units using outhouses or privies (67,865). ii
- Other states with large numbers of small community housing units using outhouses/privies are: Kentucky (55,764), Pennsylvania (47,902), Missouri (46,223), and North Carolina (45,461). iii
- Water mains constructed of wood are still in use in South Dakota, Alaska and Pennsylvania. iv
- In the 2009 update to ASCE's Report Card for America's Infrastructure, both water and wastewater were given a grade of "D-." v
- There are up to 75,000 sanitary sewer overflows per year in the United States, resulting in the discharge of 3-10 billion gallons of untreated wastewater. vi
- The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that water lost from water distribution systems is 1.7 trillion gallons per year at a national cost of $2.6 billion per year. vii
- There are 240,000 water main breaks per year in the United States. Large utility breaks in the Midwest increased from 250 per year to 2,200 per year during a 19-year period. In 2003, Baltimore, Maryland, reported 1,190 water main breaks—that's more than three per day. viii
- Approximately 671,000 (0.64%) households lack complete plumbing facilities, dropping from 721,693 (0.78%) in 1990. This is approximately 50,000 fewer households than in 2000. ix
Much of this improvement can be attributed to federal infrastructure investment.
- EPA's drinking water state revolving loan fund has provided more than $10.3 billion for drinking water projects since its inception through Fiscal Year (FY) 2009. x
- Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) has funded over $68 billion, providing over 22,700 low-interest loans to date. xi
Challenges for Small Water and Wastewater Systems
Large water systems serve most of the population in the U.S. However, very small water systems (those serving fewer than 500 customers) and small systems those serving between 501 and 3,300 customers) represent the largest number of water systems. Because smaller systems have lower revenues and fewer resources, they are more likely to have trouble meeting increased regulations.
- There are approximately 52,000 community water systems in the U.S. xii
- 292.3 million US citizens are served by 52,000 community water systems. xiii
- 77 million people live in small communities. 2.3 percent of housing units in small communities have incomplete plumbing facilities. This amounts to nearly three quarters of a million homes that have inadequate plumbing. xiv
- There are 11.7 million housing units in small communities served by public sewers, 19.8 million use septic tanks or cesspools, and 917,373 use outhouses or privies. xv
- 78% of community water systems are small or very small, serving 30% of those who get their water from a community water system. xvi
- Pennsylvania has the most people living in small communities (4.4 million), and Texas has the greatest number of housing units in small communities (1,877,889). xvii
Aging Infrastructure
While significant progress has been made, a number of challenges confront communities as they try to safeguard public health. In many communities, water distribution systems and wastewater collection systems are 40 or 50 years old; in some, they date back more than a century.
- U.S. drinking water and wastewater utilities are responsible for an estimated 800,000 miles of water delivery pipelines and between 600,000 and 800,000 miles of sewer pipelines, respectively. xviii
- There are approximately 155,000 public drinking water systems in the United States. This is a decrease of 15,000 from the 2000 report. xix
- Drinking water, including bottled water, may reasonably be expected to contain at least small amounts of some contaminants. The presence of contaminants does not necessarily indicate that water poses a health risk. EPA sets standards for 87 contaminants in drinking water. xx
- Our country's public water system infrastructure needs $334.8 billion of twenty-year capital improvements. This estimate represents infrastructure projects necessary from January 1, 2007, through December 31, 2026, for water systems to continue to provide safe drinking water to the public. xxi
- Of the population served by community water systems nationally, the percentage served by systems for which no health-based violations were reported for the entire year increased overall from 79 percent in FY 1993 to 92 percent in FY 2008, with a peak of 94 percent in FY 2002. xxii
- Between 35% and 45% of U.S. surface waters still do not meet current water-quality standards. Many of the nation's urban sewage collection systems are aging; some sewers are 100 years old. Many systems have not received the essential maintenance and repairs necessary to keep them working properly. Pending federal regulations to manage sanitary sewer overflows would impose an additional total cost for all municipalities of $93.5 million to $126.5 million each year. xxiii
i US Census Bureau
ii US EPA Office of Wastewater Management
iii US EPA Office of Wastewater Management
iv New York Times
v American Society of Civil Engineers
vi US EPA Aging Water Infrastructure Research Program
vii US EPA Aging Water Infrastructure Research Program
viii US EPA Aging Water Infrastructure Research Program
ix U.S. Census Bureau
x US EPA Federal Register Environmental Documents
xi US EPA Office of Wastewater Management
xii US EPA Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment, Fourth Report to Congress
xiii US EPA Office of Groundwater and Drinking Water
xiv US EPA Office of Wastewater Management
xv US EPA Office of Wastewater Management
xvi US EPA Office of Groundwater and Drinking Water
xvii US EPA Office of Wastewater Management
xviii United States Government Accountability Office Report GAO-08-687T, the American Society of Civil Engineers
xix EPA's "Factoids: Drinking Water and Ground Water Statistics for 2008"
xx US EPA Office of Groundwater and Drinking Water
xxi US EPA Office of Groundwater and Drinking Water
xxii US EPA's Report on the Environment
xxiii American Society of Civil Engineers