Glennon in Scientific American: Modernize Public Water Systems or Face Health Crises
Scientific American
"America's Water Supply: The Corrosion of a Proud Tradition"
Aug. 29, 2016
America's crumbling water and wastewater infrastructure will lead to a variety of health crises if not modernized soon. That's the warning delivered by University of Arizona Law's Robert Glennon, a Regents' Professor and the Morris K. Udall Professor of Law and Public Policy.
In an opinion piece for Scientific American, Glennon, who is co-director of Arizona Law's Environmental Law, Science, & Policy program, writes, "The horror of people drinking poisoned water [in Flint, Michigan] is a microcosm of the sad deterioration of one of America’s greatest accomplishments: the creation of infrastructure to provide virtually universal access to clean water and wastewater treatment."
Glennon explains that the U.S. water infrastructure of 54,000 drinking water systems, more than 700,000 miles of pipes, 17,000 wastewater treatment plants, and an additional 800,000 miles of pipes is badly in need of repair.
"The negative health and environmental effects of decaying water infrastructure, as in Flint, stretch far beyond lead poisoning," says Glennon. "Corroding pipes may leach cadmium, copper and iron into drinking water. Leaking pipes compromise water pressure and may induce contaminants to enter the drinking water system. Deteriorating sewer pipes leach fecal matter into aquifers and rivers. Aging treatment plants may fail to remove bacteria, parasites, and endocrine-disrupting compounds. No one knows which communities will be the next Flint; but these potential risks will turn into health crises without aggressive steps to modernize the infrastructure."
Glennon acknowledges that upgrading our water infrastructure will cost hundreds of billions of dollars (on the conservative end), but that polls show Americans want action and are willing to pay more for safe water. Therefore, he says, public officials at every level must devote substantial funds to modernization, and Congress should "initiate a new Clean Water Act program to underwrite the costs of municipal water treatment plants and should vastly increase funding for loans to states and cities."