Biggest Threat to US Drinking Water Supply

[Guest]

An article was posted today concerning the decay of the nation's drinking water infrastructure at Threat to Drinking Water Supply

*** Rant On ***

I have to call :angry: on this in the sense that this is NOT new news. When I was taking Potable Water System Design in college (way back when the lead and copper rule were newly promulgated) there was A LOT of discussion about the need to replace the drinking water infrastructure because life-cycle design for such a system was usually spec'd out at 20-yrs to 30-yrs. The concerns then were providing adequate disinfection while minimizing the formation of THMs and ensuring compliance with the lead and copper rule.

It is funny to read in a previous week (one or two weeks ago) where well-head security concerns for the nation's drinking water is the top concern and then the next week read that it is from 'rusted pipes'.

Give me a break !!!

*** Rant Off ***

I wonder where the capital for that infrastructure improvement will come from ?? Perhaps this will be addressed in :whipping: 's State of the Union Address ... hmmmm ...

JR

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

Rust? In what way?

High levels of dissolved Fe2+ in the water?

 

[Dleg]

I think they are just referring to aging infrastructure. The same thing has been said for the nation's wastewater infrastructure - so much of it was built following the CWA in the '70s and the huge pulse of federal money to address pollution, and now much of that is nearing the end of its life and there is little hope of similar federal funding to replace it.

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

^ Good thing in the old sections of northern New England, the infrastructure predates all that.

I was doing some test pits this summer, and we hit a domestic water service pipe. Made of lead. Some of the places from what I hear, still have wooden trunks for various mains.

 

[tucents]

VT,

You dont mean tree trunks in the literal sense, do you?

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

None that I've seen personally. But from what the locals say, they still have actual wooden water mains in certain places where the system is really old.

That and that lovely Orangeburg sewer pipe is all over the palce.

 

[Guest]

I don't know much about gravity sewer lines, but I have heard in some places that they did use wood. With some of the things I have seen, nothing surprises me.

One project I am working on now, the industrial sewer lines (used for discharging spent etchant - VOCs, metals, etc.) at a circuit board manufacturer were made of terra cotta pipe. Guess what happened when the building (built circa 1965) settled just a tad.

Doh !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

JR

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

Well this was water line I was talking about.

I've never seen wood sewer before. You'd have to imagine raw sewage would eat the wood?

I haven't seen terra cotta pipe used much. Concrete storm drain pipes were big where I used to work though.