loss of pressure from pipe breaks<\/a> can allow contamination to enter the system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cThe waste and cost to ratepayers if you\u2019re losing 50 or 60 percent of your water, it\u2019s enough to make your blood boil,\u201d said Eric Oswald, director of the drinking water division at Michigan\u2019s Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy. He said Michigan communities large and small are losing significant amounts of water, mainly tied to industry and population loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Experts say needed investment often is deferred because raising water rates to fix systems is politically unpopular, but also because it\u2019s difficult to borrow money and poorer communities often have to spend scarce resources on other needs, such as fire protection and police.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf the choice is building a school or putting in a transmission main, you build a school,\u201d said John C. Young, a former water executive who helped manage Flint, Michigan\u2019s recovery efforts after its lead-contaminated water crisis. He recently was appointed to oversee the beleaguered Prichard water and sewer department \u2014 already shaken by an embezzlement scandal \u2014 after it was sued by a bank for defaulting on a $55 million loan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Struggling cities, Young said, are \u201ckind of between a rock and a hard place.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
LACK OF DATA<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Lisa McGuire picked her way past charred remains of the home where she and her husband, Tony McGuire, spent 28 years, pointing out where the living room, bathroom and kitchen once stood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She rushed home from the hospital where she was visiting her husband last April after a neighbor called her about the fire. She found Prichard firefighters standing there, an empty hose attached to a hydrant. They eventually got water from a hydrant down the street, McGuire and neighbors said, but it was too late.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI lost everything,\u201d including two dogs that were trapped in the house and now are buried under a tree in the backyard, McGuire said, wiping away tears. \u201cI want to come back home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For years, water problems in the neighborhood, called Alabama Village, were obvious, especially when children waded through standing water on their way to school or when water pressure was too low to take a shower, residents say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last year, reports from an engineering firm and the Alabama Department of Environmental Management said almost one-fifth of Prichard\u2019s water loss was in Alabama Village, which once had more than a hundred homes but now only has three dozen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the city still doesn\u2019t know precisely where the rest of the water is being lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In fact, many cities, towns and states don\u2019t know exactly how much water disappears after being treated, or why. It\u2019s called \u201cnonrevenue water\u201d because it\u2019s not being billed, including water used for firefighting and filling municipal swimming pools \u2014 or when meters fail or residents and businesses connect illegally. But in many older towns, like Prichard, most lost water is probably leaking from the system, said Young, the court-appointed receiver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is no comprehensive accounting of water loss nationally, and no federal regulations requiring communities to control it, said Sinha, the Virginia Tech researcher, who is working with the U.S. Geological Survey on a study to quantify the scope of the nation\u2019s water loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
About a dozen states require water systems to report losses, including Georgia, where some communities report losses of 85% or more, Sinha said. At first, he thought there had been a mistake, but \u201cGeorgia (environmental officials) said, \u2018No, that is real.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even smaller losses should be unacceptable, said Sinha, noting some communities that draw and treat their own water don\u2019t regard losses as an emergency because it\u2019s cheaper than fixing leaks. Limiting losses to 10% should be the goal, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf you are losing 30%, 40% or 50% … why (is it not) shocking?\u201d he said. \u201cI mean, what kind of society is it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Illinois, communities getting water from Lake Michigan are required to annually report use and loss, but the state has no certified records after 2017, when several places reported significant levels of nonrevenue water \u2014 up to 52% in Maywood, west of Chicago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The state gets an annual water allotment under the Great Lakes Compact, so losses could affect whether additional communities can draw water in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
State officials are trying to hire staff to enforce the reporting requirement, while water loss continues to worsen in old and shrinking Chicago suburbs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a huge problem because infrastructure is rapidly deteriorating,\u201d said Loren Wobig, director of the office of water resources at the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. \u201cIt needs attention and it needs it now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
FUNDING CHALLENGES<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Yet struggling communities with the worst water systems often are at significant disadvantage when it comes to fixing problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They can\u2019t rely solely on higher water rates, because shrinking population and industry leave too few customers on distribution systems built for much larger communities. Experts say those who remain usually are poorer and minority residents, who already spend a greater portion of income on water and power, meaning rate increases can trigger more water theft and population loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Prichard, which has lost 60% of its peak population and where many downtown buildings are vacant, water users saw a 22% rate increase last year that hasn\u2019t come close to generating enough revenue to run the system, let alone fix it, said Young, the receiver. He\u2019s conducting an affordability study and established a program to assist residents struggling to pay water and sewer bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Adding to the challenges: Costs escalate every year that maintenance and replacement is deferred. But leaders of struggling communities say the cards have been stacked against them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prichard Mayor Jimmy Gardner said some loans and grants require recipients to match the funding, which would mean diverting money from other needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI always tell people … follow the dollars and where they\u2019re going and what communities they are going in, and you will find that in most states … the underserved and underrepresented communities are not getting those dollars,\u201d Gardner said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cities also suffer when their bond ratings are downgraded \u2014 sometimes even when they haven\u2019t missed payments \u2014 making it more difficult to borrow or repay money for infrastructure fixes. And some have been talked into variable interest rates that hurt them in the long run, said Saqib Bhatti, co-executive director of the Action Center on Race and the Economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really a downward spiral,\u201d Bhatti said. \u201cFor cities where the population is shrinking and there are high rates of poverty \u2014 predominantly black and brown cities that have historically been underinvested in \u2014 it becomes really hard to actually come up with the money for those investments.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some communities have faced mismanagement allegations, including in Prichard, where several former Water Works and Sewer Board employees are charged with embezzling money. But the system is so precarious \u2014 with an annual operating deficit of $5 million and hundreds of millions in capital improvement needs \u2014 that the alleged corruption had almost no impact, Young said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite billions in available federal and state infrastructure grants and low- and zero-interest loans, disadvantaged communities often lack staff, money or expertise to complete audits and engineering reports required of applicants. The Environmental Protection Agency has established a technical assistance program to help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For Prichard and many other poor communities, state and federal money that doesn\u2019t have to be repaid will be needed to supplement other measures, said Young, who plans to ask the EPA \u201cfor as much as I can get\u201d for Prichard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jackson, for example, has received $600 million in federal funding. And Michigan recently brokered a proposed deal that includes $70 million to upgrade Highland Park\u2019s water infrastructure, including replacing water mains and service lines. The city, which buys Lake Huron water, had been in a years-long dispute over $58 million in unpaid water bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DIFFICULT CHOICES<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Angela Adams drives around potholes, past mounds of household debris and abandoned houses, and sometimes through flooded streets to reach her home of 30 years in Prichard\u2019s Alabama Village.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She never considered leaving, even as neighbors died or moved away, roads turned from asphalt to dirt and houses were torn down or burned. Her fondest memories are here, where she raised three children and loves watching squirrels and woodpeckers in her large, fenced yard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But now, there\u2019s talk of seizing residents\u2019 property and paying them to move to help stem the city\u2019s water loss and create redevelopment opportunities. The city already has banned additional water hookups in the neighborhood, where water has been flowing from a faulty water main into the city\u2019s sewer system, making it difficult to adequately treat waste.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m at an age where I\u2019m planning on retiring. I\u2019m too old to go buy another house,\u201d said Adams, 59, who said a leaky city water line flooded her back yard last year. \u201cAll I want to do is sit on my front porch, drink my coffee and mind my business like I\u2019ve been doing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Advocates for moving residents include the mayor, who said it could allow the city to redevelop the area, perhaps to store shipping containers for the nearby Port of Mobile. Developers have expressed an interest, but \u201cif we move someone, we need to make sure we\u2019re placing them somewhere … where they can continue to live a wholesome life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The idea of moving is particularly infuriating to residents who say they were never told about the extent of water loss even as utility bills climbed, or about health risks from low water pressure, said attorney Roger Varner, who filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of city residents. They shouldn\u2019t lose homes, some in families for generations, because of lack of investment and mismanagement, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThose are the ones who have been wronged the most because they\u2019re saying, \u2018Wait, wait. I pay my water bill, I paid off my home, I\u2019ve got every right to be here and you\u2019re telling me because you haven\u2019t done your job I have to … move?\u2019\u201d said Varner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even so, Young, who now oversees Prichard\u2019s water and sewer system, said moving residents from Alabama Village \u2014 built more than 80 years ago to house local shipyard workers \u2014 must be considered to save money and possibly generate revenue. He\u2019s also exploring whether a private company might partner with Prichard to run the system, whether the nearby Mobile Area Water and Sewer System might take it over, or whether a treatment plant could be built so the city could draw and process its own water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shrinking water infrastructure is rare because of logistical challenges and because neighborhoods most likely targeted often are majority African-American areas that saw little investment, said Joseph Schilling, senior researcher at the Urban Institute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn places like Flint, where the whole city was traumatized by environmental injustices, it\u2019s hard to talk about decommissioning infrastructure,\u201d said Schilling. \u201cWhen you have a long legacy of environmental injustice, racial segregation and exclusionary zoning, any new initiatives have to be done with the community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But struggling cities also resist talk of downsizing water systems because they hold out hope industry and residents will return, said Oswald from the Michigan environment department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t want to cast doubt on those kinds of grandiose plans but, I mean, we\u2019ve got systems that have 300 percent more capacity than the water they deliver,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to maintain that, and at the end of the day it\u2019s the poor ratepayers who wind up having to subsidize it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Young said fixing water infrastructure in America\u2019s struggling cities will take much more money and won\u2019t happen quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBecause you\u2019ve underinvested in this system for decades and decades … it\u2019s going to take decades to bring it back,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
apnews<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PRICHARD, Ala. (AP) \u2014 Water bubbles up in streets, pooling in neighborhoods for weeks or months. Homes burn to the ground if firefighters can\u2019t draw enough water from hydrants. Utility crews struggle to fix broken pipes while water flows through shut-off valves that don\u2019t work. For generations, the water infrastructure beneath this southern Alabama city […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":24509,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5780],"tags":[7423,10444,2310,4099,6133,23397],"class_list":["post-24508","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-livehood","tag-aging","tag-america-2","tag-cost","tag-drinking-water","tag-leakage","tag-populace"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24508","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24508"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24508\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24510,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24508\/revisions\/24510"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/24509"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}