In this age of technology and scientific advancement, we are coming face-to-face with a crisis thatrncannot be challenged by technology alone. In large cites and small towns across America, sanitaryrnsewers are failing, and they’re failing at an alarming rate. Whether they are failing because of neglect,rnlack of adequate funding, or sub-standard construction practices, the rate of deterioration still out-pacesrnthe resources to fix them. The facts are plainly clear in a recent report card issued by the AmericanrnSociety of Civil Engineers (ASCE), which ranked America's wastewater infrastructure lower than everyrnother infrastructure except for public schools (the grade assigned was a D+, with schools receiving a D-).rnAccording to the report:rn"The nation's 16,000 wastewater systems face enormous needs. Some sewers are 100rnyears old. Currently, there is a $12 billion annual shortfall in funding for infrastructurernneeds; however, federal funding has remained flat for a decade."rnThe sanitary sewer system... one of the most significant public infrastructure systems that a city or thernpublic utility operates and maintains. In the U.S. alone, this infrastructure represents approximately 1.3rnbillion meters (5.2 billion feet) of pipeline. In terms of a utility asset, it represents $1.0 trillion or 16% ofrnthe public works infrastructure. If laid end-to-end, this would represent a single pipeline that wouldrnstretch to the moon and back?.three times! To the say the least, it is huge. But it is also the "uglyrnduckling" of the public utility enterprise because it’s entirely underground, out-of-site, and deterioratingrnfaster than it can be fixed. And it's pretty stinky.rnIn a recent survey by the Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies (AMSA), 65% of thosernresponding reported a chronic problem with sanitary sewer overflows (SSO), with many citing seriousrnimpacts to receiving streams and water quality. Most revealing in this survey, however, is the simple factrnthat "?.most communities know very little about the condition of their collection system as it relates tornthe unauthorized discharge of untreated wastewater to the water body."rnReliable studies have estimated that more than $100 billion is needed to restore the wastewaterrncollection system infrastructure in the US, alone. Only a fraction of this is being re-invested intornrehabilitation and restoration programs. Current estimates show that only $1-2 billion are being spentrnannually on sewer renewal and rehabilitation. Identifying the problem is a simple... sanitary sewerrnoverflows, structural deterioration, uncontrolled wet-weather bypasses, and chronic back-ups.rnDetermining the cause of these problems, however, is an enormous challenge. Since the system is belowrnground (except for an occasional manhole lid), it normally takes extraordinary measures to diagnose it,rnanalyze it, and fix it through conventional and non-conventional measures.
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