Executive Summary
Aging water and sewer systems in North America are rapidly deteriorating, causing not only service delivery interruptions and water quality concerns but also widespread environmental damage. High rates of leakage and breaks, reduced pumping efficiency, and infiltration of groundwater and stormwater contribute to wasteful overuse of natural resources and increased pollution through chemical treatments and greenhouse gas emissions. These increasing deterioration issues are all connected to the same design problem: using materials that are subject to corrosion within highly corrosive environments. This article provides an overview of the current conditions of water infrastructure in the United States and Canada and the environmental damage that results from its failures. The conclusion offers four principles that can be used to guide the development of sustainable water infrastructure: durability, water-tightness, resourcefulness, and transparency.
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