Author: Professor, Dr. Dietrich Stein - TrenchlessOnline

into the incidents are complete, Eben Wyman, vice president
of government relations at the National Utility
Contractors Association (NUCA), says that needs continue
to grow even as federal funding shrinks.
“It’s a sad story.Take water and wastewater systems — the
EPA estimates that America’s wastewater infrastructure
faces close to $200 billion in existing, documented needs,”
says Wyman.“To make matters worse, we’ll need $534 billion
for water and sewer systems by 2019 if we don’t up the
ante in terms of investing in our underground, environmental
infrastructure. When you take a broader look at our
roads, bridges, highways, waterways, dams and schools, the
situation doesn’t get any better.”
In addition, various regions of the United States have special
infrastructure needs due to population or environmental
factors, says Marcuson. In some areas, population growth
outpaces infrastructure growth, while areas like the West
Coast and Gulf Coast must contend with the possibilities of
natural disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes. But
regardless of location, he says that the effect of collapsing
infrastructure is far reaching.
“Crumbling infrastructure impacts the physical health of
our nation’s citizens and the economic health of our country,”
Marcuson says.“These recent failures have gotten the
nation’s attention. Fixing these problems will take real leadership,
but I don’t see anyone addressing the issues surrounding
our infrastructure.This must change.”
But the tide may be turning. According to Wyman, the
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recent disasters have spurred discussion on the state of
America’s infrastructure in Congress. This, combined with
NUCA and the Clean Water Council’s work to increase federal
funding for water and wastewater infrastructure, may
help get federal leaders to give serious consideration to the
needs of infrastructure of all types.Some are already leading
the way.
“Longtime infrastructure champions like Rep. Jim
Oberstar [D-Minn.] are responding accordingly and dragging
others off the sidelines in the process,”says Wyman.“And he’s
not alone — there are lawmakers who consider infrastructure
a high priority, although many continue to need a lot of
educating to realize how important these lifelines are to the
nation.It’s our job to make sure that America’s infrastructure
is a lasting priority and not the flavor of the week, because
there is an overwhelming amount of work to be done.”
Hopefully, the efforts of activists, involved members of
Congress,civil engineers and infrastructure efforts will help
turn the tide against an aging system that is struggling
against time, wear and neglect. It is an effort that must not
be abandoned, according to Marcuson.
“We have underinvested in our infrastructure for decades,
and sadly, we’ve learned that ignoring a problem doesn’t
make it go away,” Marcuson says.“We must invest now or
pay more later.”
Katherine Fulton is an assistant editor of Trenchless
Technology.
September 2007 TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY 19