Rutland has century-long wish list for water infrastructure

The largest federal aid program for improving the nation’s drinking water systems has struggled to spend money in a timely fashion despite demand for assistance that far exceeds the amount available, a review by The Associated Press shows. Officials say project delays, poor management by some states and structural problems have contributed to the slow spending.

The vast majority of that is for replacement of pipes that distribute water, which are around a century old in many parts of the state.

Massachusetts has been allocated $478 million in federal grants from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund through 2015 and recently appears to be doing a better job than many states of utilizing the funds.

The law requires that every state receive at least 1 percent of the appropriation, which means small, largely rural states have enjoyed a disproportionate share. Replacing pipes, treatment plants and other infrastructure as well as expanding drinking water systems to handle population growth could cost as much as $1 trillion.

The 2013 report also noted that the American Society of Civil Engineers, in quadrennial report cards since 1998, give New Hampshire’s water infrastructure an average of “D” grades because the state isn’t investing enough.

“Inevitably, some of those projects take much longer than they meant to”, Pillsbury said.

Nationwide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency projects it will cost $384 billion over 20 years just to maintain the nation’s existing drinking water infrastructure.

Many of the problems plaguing local water systems stemmed more from years of neglect, but officials said the drought helped to exacerbate the challenge of providing clean, sustainable drinking water in numerous communities around the state. The program does the most for small and mid-sized systems that need capital for projects, such as the $76 million loan for the plant being built in Ames. That funding totaled $667 million for Illinois from 2011 to 2015.

Thats usually due to communities not completing the paperwork they need to be reimbursed, Blatt said, rather than not taking advantage of the program at all.

Without the grant funds, he said, NPU will have to adjust schedules and the size and scope of projects. Algae blooms in Lake Erie, fed by agriculture runoff and overflowing sewer pipes, have become so toxic that they shut down Toledo’s water system for two days in the summer of 2014 and have the city looking at spending millions to avoid a repeat. Nationally, more than $2.7 billion has been used for set-asides since 1996, the year Congress created the revolving fund. Experts say the trend is sure to accelerate as the cost of water, treatment and delivery comes into line with how essential water is to our daily lives.