Aging or Old?

Policy discussions and media coverage often use the term aging water infrastructure, but what does that mean? Water infrastructure is well defined, and it typically includes expensive assets with long lives (50 to 100 years) such as pump stations, treatment plants, and pipelines. On the other hand, the term aging can take two meanings for water infrastructure; in the end, I think the word old serves better for one of them.

To start, everything is aging—you, me, our water infrastructure. Sometimes conditions promote degradation that makes it seem like there's extra aging—e.g., pipes buried in a corrosive environment. But as much as we may want time to go slower or faster, everything ages at the same rate. Water systems have historically addressed the normal breakdowns that come with aging by using operations and maintenance budgets, which cover day-to-day upkeep and ensure existing assets are operational. Aging is regularly addressed to maintain acceptable levels of service across a system.

When systems can no longer meet their levels of service or new goals are established, those systems aren’t just aging—they’re old, outdated, even failing. When the headline reads “Trillions of gallons leak from aging drinking water systems…,” it really means “Trillions of gallons leak from old drinking water systems….” Old water mains are subject to more frequent breaks and other failures that can threaten public health and compromise water quality and firefighting flows.

Old water infrastructure has usually been neglected and underfinanced, and to meet a community's expectations, these aged systems require either comprehensive rehabilitation or full-scale replacement. This is what most people are referring to when discussing aging water systems. In these cases, the problems center on capital improvement plans, which are how utilities budget for system renewal, replacement, and expansion. For example, leaking water mains that are more than 100 years old may reach a state where they can no longer be maintained, and instead the utility must consider whether the pipes can be cleaned and relined or whether they must be replaced altogether.

Many systems are at or beyond their expected useful lives, and those systems will see problems mount the longer they go unaddressed. The capital needs of old water systems require extensive financial solutions but also more effectively managing assets to the end of their useful lives. This has never been easy, and in the face of changing customer expectations, regulations, and climates, it becomes more complicated every day.

Thankfully, water professionals gain wisdom as they age, so proven and innovative solutions to these issues are available. Journal AWWA is here to help share your experiences with and solutions to aging and old water infrastructure; please consider writing an article by contacting me at [email protected].