Atlanta water main break points to larger infrastructure problems in the United States

Experts say last week’s water problems in Atlanta are indicative of infrastructure problems affecting large swaths of the country.

Late last week, three water main lines in the Georgia town broke, leaving many residents without water. A major pipe has already been repaired, but many residents are still under a boil water order for several days.

This problem is just one example of the problems caused by the country’s aging and often fragile water systems.

“A lot of our water infrastructure was built between 50 and 100 years ago, so a lot of it is at the end of its life and we see it in the water main breaks,” said Richard Luthy, specialist in civil and environmental engineering. professor at Stanford University.

He said main breaks are a “common story” in older cities; “It’s just a symptom that they need to be replaced.”

The American Society of Civil Engineers estimated in 2021 that a water main breaks every two minutes in the United States, leaking enough water to fill 9,000 swimming pools every day.

“We haven’t invested in our infrastructure the way we should,” said Darren Olson, chairman of the group’s committee on American infrastructure.

The consequences of such disruptions are not only a loss of access to water for consumers, but also for essential services.

“Hospitals and other critical infrastructure are served by these water pipes,” Olson said, adding that when they break, it can cause “cascading effects.”

“This can affect a hospital which may have to turn away patients,” he added. “A manufacturing plant may be shut down for a day or two, and these impacts can be extremely costly to the U.S. economy.”

Luthy pointed out that part of the problem is the cost of replacing pipes, especially when problems aren’t always obvious until something goes wrong.

“It’s like having a car that you’ve already paid for, you keep using it, but one day it’s not going to work anymore, and you have to recognize that, ‘uh oh, I’m going to have to buy a new car.’ ,'” he said.

The problem is not limited to Atlanta. Water problems have made headlines over the years across the country, from water shortages in various localities to flooding affecting water supplies in Jackson, Mississippi, last year.

Beyond physical infrastructure, toxic substances have also taken their toll – with lead pipes in cities like Flint, Michigan, making water unsafe for safety and the water itself becoming contaminated across the country by chemicals, including PFAS.

PFAS, which stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are used to make non-stick and waterproof products and have been linked to diseases, including some cancers. A federal study last year found that these toxic chemicals can be found in nearly half of the tap water in the United States.

There is a major – albeit incomplete – federal solution to the water infrastructure problem currently being implemented in the United States: the bipartisan Infrastructure Act of 2021.

This law sets aside billions to strengthen the country’s water infrastructure. It dedicates $11.7 billion in public funds to address a range of water problems; $15 billion specifically to combat lead pipes, which is a neurotoxin; and a total of $9 billion to combat emerging chemicals like PFAS.

“This represents a relatively modest percentage of the total needs,” said Erik Olson, senior strategic director for health at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “There’s really going to be a need for additional local and state investment and it’s clear that additional federal investment is needed as well.”

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