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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimated in 2023 that the nation’s water utilities need to spend $625 billion on infrastructure over the next 20 years. Two-thirds of that total is for water transmission and distribution – the pipes, in other words.
Water mains are a city’s hidden circulatory system. In large metro areas they snake for thousands of miles beneath streets and across neighborhoods. Their age tells a story of urban growth and infrastructure deterioration.
In the United States, many pipes have outlived their designed life.
“Every sector depends on the delivery of safe, reliable water,” said Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey during a February 24 hearing on U.S. drinking water infrastructure. “But unfortunately, the pipes underground are often forgotten until something bad happens. It’s essentially out of sight, out of mind.”
When the pipes fail, the damage is easy to see. Streets close, businesses shut down, homes flood. Residents in Shreveport, the third-largest city in Louisiana, were told in the first week of March to boil their water before using it. A 42-inch water main burst on March 1.
Older U.S. cities have pipes in their distribution network that were installed a century ago or more. In Philadelphia, one of the country’s original cities, 40 percent of the water mains were connected before 1930. Twenty miles of pipe in its system predate the Civil War.
Age, however, is only part of the story. The deterioration of any particular pipe depends on a bundle of external and internal factors. What material are the pipes made of? Cast iron, ductile iron, asbestos cement, or polyvinyl chloride? Each has a different lifespan. What are the chemical properties of the soil and water that surround the pipe? Some environments are more corrosive. What is the climate? Freeze-thaw cycles or drought can weaken pipes.
The water industry views pipe replacement as one of its biggest challenges. In an annual American Water Works Association survey, infrastructure renewal has ranked as a top three issue since 2020.
Industry estimates for infrastructure requirements are even larger than the EPA’s. The Value of Water Campaign, a coalition of water groups, projects a $1.6 trillion capital investment need for drinking water. That figure includes recent EPA regulations for PFAS, lead service line replacements, and other considerations.
Recognizing the need, Congress temporarily boosted spending by passing the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Signed into law in 2021, the bill allocated an additional $50 billion over five years. That funding bump, however, is due to expire at the end of this fiscal year.
