Houston, TX (PRWEB) July 30, 2015 -- By: John Lacy, P.E.
Our water infrastructure is 50-100 years old and at risk of failing with a D grade, according to the ASCE. Unfortunately, repairing or replacing this vital infrastructure all too often gets neglected. So what does this mean for you and me?
The average U.S. price of tap water is about one penny for five gallons. This is affordable when combined with regular maintenance. However, like saving a little money by avoiding changing the oil in your car, continued neglect will lead to greater cost when you eventually have to “replace the entire engine".
As we are facing a growing population, and with more people moving here and living longer, the greater-Houston area is expected to grow from approximately 6.3 to 9.2 million people by 2040. That means almost 50% more people in our area will likely need water 25 years from now. State regulations to combat as much as 10 feet of Houston-area subsidence (sinking of the ground due to over-pumping of groundwater) require us to use less groundwater.
With less water and more people, the easy answer seems to be that we need more rain. Over 47% of the country is currently facing drought conditions. Many Texas reservoirs are approaching 30% full, a condition not seen since the 1954-1956 worst drought in Texas recorded history.
New pipelines and reservoirs, wastewater reuse, desalination, treatment of contaminated water (such as fracking water), and other technologies are helping to bridge the gap, but water supplies are limited. Public approval of state funding from Proposition 6 is helping reduce the cost of these type of public projects, but it can’t generate new projects.
Read more:
http://www.costelloinc.com/blog
Scott Steiner, On Target Agency, +1 (281) 444-4777, [email protected]
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