In the United States, the systems that collect, treat, and deliver water are deteriorating at an alarming rate. Many of these systems were built a century ago and they are reaching the end of their useful lives. Every day, there are hundreds of water main breaks, underscoring the fact that the vast network of pipes that bring us clean water and take our wastewater away is crumbling beneath our feet much more quickly than we can replace it.
To upgrade and replace failing systems will cost a pretty penny -- at least $1 trillion over the next 25 years by some estimates. Making water infrastructure a priority is the key for building the necessary support but, because much of our water and wastewater infrastructure is underground and out of sight, it is often forgotten -- until something goes wrong.
To help bring awareness to this very serious problem, we asked our readers to send us pictures that capture the essence of aging water and wastewater infrastructure, both here in the U.S. and abroad. Here are the winning entries!
Honorable Mentions
We received many great submissions for our aging infrastructure photo contest. Here are a few that deserve mention.
rusted reinforcing steel in a large diameter sewer. By Steve Krai.
By Daniel Madore.
Be sure to follow us on Facebook for details on our next WaterShots photo contest!
