George Hawkins, who heads the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority, has taken on a formidable challenge. He’s trying to win support for raising the funds to fix the aging water and sewer infrastructure in the nation’s capital, according to a story in the March 16 New York Times.
Hawkins and his city are not alone. The Times estimates, based on an analysis of EPA data, that a significant water line bursts on average every two minutes somewhere in the country. And in Washington, a pipe break occurs on average once a day.
People in Washington are getting angry about it, according to the paper. Hawkins wants the public to accept higher water and sewer rates so the utility can fix more pipes sooner. “People pay more for their cellphones and cable television than for water,” he says. “You can go a day without a phone or TV. You can’t go a day without water.”
The paper said that as Hawkins tried to explain the problem to a crowd gathered around a major water main break, one resident yelled, “I don’t care why these pipes aren’t working! I pay $60 a month for water! I just want my toilet to flush! Why do I need to know how it works?”
So, if we pay money for the system, it should work? Irrespective of whether the money we pay is enough? That’s the battle Hawkins and people in similar positions around the country are fighting.
Hawkins has passion and isn’t backing down about the need to charge enough for water and sewer to support effective maintenance. The entire article is worth reading. Visit http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/15/us/15water.html?src=me&ref=homepage.
