WE’RE NOT ALONE
            Because of the age of the infrastructure related to well equipment, transmission lines, treatment processes, and storm sewers, water management failures are likely. This is not just a problem in any our community, it is a problem nationwide. Recently an article in the New York Times, March 15, 2010, reporting from data at the EPA reveals, “Today, a significant water line bursts on average every two minutes somewhere in the country.”
            In the east of our country, many community water systems have been in place since before the Civil War. In the midwest many systems are at least 100 years old. Pipes and treatment systems need to be replaced and/or brought up-to-date. New wells must be drilled to maintain the quantity of water needed for increasing demand.Wear and tear in our homes and buildings easily catches our attention. What is buried or at a distance we tend to ignore until there is a major water main break or a problem that renders our drinking water unsafe.                   
            Even where water quality is good, water can have a corrosive effect on piping systems. Piping systems can be affected by “several factors unrelated to water quality:

• Water chemistry
• The pH of the water (acidity)
• The amount of oxygen in the water
• The temperature of the water
• The velocity/pressure of the water in the pipe.

            “The rate of corrosion can also be affected by the chemical make up of the water and the amount of galvanic corrosion from the use of different metals in or in contact with the piping system.” From www.repairmyleak.com
            “Any type of pipe can leak at a poor connection. That kind of leak is usually impossible to anticipate and can be caused by vibration over time.” From www.managemylife.com
            In some communities where storm water has not been adequately separated from sewage, water treatment plants are overwhelmed at times of heavy rains or snowmelt and untreated sewage must be discharged into a surface waterbody. Inevitably the pipes that were placed there by our grandparents or great-grandparents will leak. Breaks in distribution pipes cause inconvenient disruptions of service. Leaks in sewage transmission pipes cause contamination of groundwater.
We fix the leaks in our faucets. We install low-flush  toilets. And still we must pay more for our water. Out of sight, out of mind is the vast system of underground pipes and extensive community systems that must be maintained to provide our water. When all of the costs of providing drinking water are counted, the conclusion is that we do not pay enough for our water.
            Water is important to everything in our daily life. Paying for quality water – community supplied water or maintaining our own well and treatment system – must be a high priority on the expense side of every budget.

Della Moen, Earth Team Volunteer, NRCS/Stephenson Soil and Water Conservation District, an equal opportunity provider and employer, 03/17/10 (for publication on 03/20/10 in the Journal-Standard, Freeport, Illinois) Della can be reached at info@stephensonswcd.org