CityLab: Poor Customers Pay the Price for America's Crumbling Water Infrastructure

No one to my knowledge has ever suggested selling or privatizing the Lake Worth water utility which is the focus of this article in CityLab. But that was/is the solution for some cities around the country to fix their water woes and many are regretting going that route. In reading the article a few things stand out: the idea of a 'National Infrastructure Bank', the amount of water lost every year from broken water pipes and what steps can be taken to fix the problem other than digging up and replacing an entire city's water delivery infrastructure. Here are two excerpts:

America’s corroded, crumbling water infrastructure has reached the point of epidemic. Many of the country’s 1.5 million miles of pipes—some of which are more than a century old—are approaching a desperate need for replacement. Hundreds of thousands of water breaks occur every year. An estimated six billion gallons of treated water, which is as much as 18 percent of our total daily use, is lost to leaks or breaks every day. As urban populations grow, restoring and expanding our water systems—just to maintain current levels of service—will cost at least $1 trillion over the next 25 years. 

[and. . .]

What can be done, barring privatization? David LaFrance, CEO of the American Water Works Association, has said that public utilities first need to audit their systems and install meters more widely in order to get a handle on how much water is being lost. Beyond that, extensive infrastructure investment—maybe even a National Infrastructure Bank—is essential. More than ever, we need a safe, stable, and equitable water system—and only local governments should be entrusted to provide it.