West Virginia American Water spent $105 million in system improvements between 2012 and 2014 and intends to spend $98 million more on projects through the beginning of 2017, she said.
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Like much of the country, Vermont’s public drinking water system is aging, and there isn’t enough money to meet the demand to upgrade it.
A Joint Legislative Study Commission reported in 2013 that it would cost $857 million over a decade to address all the state’s drinking water priorities.
Pellei said he wishes the state could get the money out quicker, but that water systems are reimbursed for the cost of the projects and that they can take years to complete.
“What’s driving it now is just sheer age”, Pillsbury said.
While a review of national data by The Associated Press determined more than $1 billion from the EPA’s federal aid program is sitting unspent in government accounts, Connecticut officials contend the state’s record for doling out the money bests the national average.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that $6.7 billion in drinking water infrastructure improvements are needed across Virginia, including $4.5 billion for pipelines and water distribution projects.
“We have communities where there have been, particularly the ones that have pretty sizeable loans, long periods of time without their submitting pay (requisitions)”, Blatt said. “You see it on a very routine basis”.
For Joy Gunnoe, a water main break isn’t merely a hassle.
Robert Barry is commissioner of the New Hampton Village Precinct water system, a tiny provider that serves 600 people. In recent years, lawmakers have approved $900 million annually for the program, but they are considering a deep cut for next year. Because water from Mountain Pond comes overland to the reservoir, it contains loads of particles that turn the water into “tea” during spring, summer and fall. “It’s the same things with these loans”, Gibson said. He thinks private financing would ultimately be cheaper. In Garden City in the northern part of the state, the funds paid for a new water treatment plant. That makes the revolving loan fund critical.
In addition, states are using an increasing share of money on other drinking water services instead of investing in infrastructure. The program’s careful approach, they said, ensures money goes to worthy projects and to systems that can repay loans. “It’s a question of delays”, said Jim Taft, executive director of the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators.
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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.
