The grades in 2013 range from a high of B- for solid waste infrastructure to a low of D- for inland waterways and levees. None of the categories received a lower grade than in 2009, however near-failing grades continue to be seen in numerous sectors that are crucial to the economy and Americans’ quality of life.
Encouraging trends were found in sectors where focused investments were made. Six sectors (solid waste, drinking water, wastewater, roads, bridges, and rail) each experienced incremental improvements since the last assessment. America’s rail sector saw the largest improvement, moving from a C- to a C+.
TRENDS CONTRIBUTING TO RISING GRADES
Key trends driving improvements included:
- Renewed efforts in cities and states to address deficient roads, bridges, drinking water and wastewater systems;
- Private investment for efficiency and connectivity brought improvements in the nation’s railways, ports, and energy grid;
- Several categories benefited from short-term boosts in federal funding.
“A D+ is simply unacceptable for anyone serious about strengthening our nation’s economy; however, the 2013 Report Card shows that this problem can be solved. If we want to create jobs, increase trade, and assure the safety of our children, then infrastructure investment is the answer,” said
ASCE President Gregory E. DiLoreto, P.E.
For the first time, the 2013 Report Card includes information for all 50 states and highlights initiatives and innovations that are making a difference. For example, Oklahoma created a plan to replace or rehabilitate over 950 structurally deficient bridges between 2013 and 2020. Philadelphia implemented a program to improve resiliency and address combined sewer overflows using green infrastructure, capable of capturing water from all but the most severe storms.
“We must commit today to investing in modern, efficient infrastructure systems to position the U.S. for economic prosperity,”
added DiLoreto. “Infrastructure can either be the engine for long-term economic growth and employment, or, it can jeopardize our nation’s standing if poor roads, deficient bridges, and failing waterways continue to hurt our economy.”
REPORT CARD GRADES FOR SPECIFIC INFRASTRUCTURE SECTORS
Water and Environment
Dams again earned a grade of D, in part because of the increase in the nation’s aging and high-hazard dams. In fact, the average age of the country’s 84,000 dams is 52 years old.
Drinking Water systems
improved slightly to a grade of D. Frequent water main breaks, pipes and mains that are frequently more than 100 years old are reaching the end of their life cycle and require significant investment, and continue to account for the low grade.
[There are an estimated 240,000 water main breaks per year in the United States. Assuming every pipe would need to be replaced, the cost over the coming decades could reach more than $1 trillion, according to the American Water Works Association (AWWA).... There are an estimated 240,000 water main breaks per year in the United States.... In 2012, the American Water Works Association (AWWA) concluded that the aggregate replacement value for more than one million miles of pipes was approximately $2.1 trillion if all pipes were to be replaced at once. Since not all pipes need to be replaced immediately, it is estimated that the most urgent investments could be spread over 25 years at a cost of approximately $1 trillion. “The need will double from roughly $13 billion a year today to almost $30 billion (in 2010 dollars) annually by the 2040s, and the cost will be met primarily through higher water bills and local fees. “Delaying the investment can result in degrading water service, increasing water service disruptions, and increasing expenditures for emergency repairs. Ultimately we will have to face the need to ‘catch up’ with past deferred investments, and the more we delay the harder the job will be when the day of reckoning comes.” By 2050, the aggregate investment needs would total more than $1.7 trillion, according to the AWWA. By contrast, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) needs estimates are more conservative as they do not factor in population growth. Their results in 2007 found a 20-year capital investment need of almost $334.8 billion for approximately 53,000 community water systems and 21,400 not-for-profit noncommunity water systems (including schools and churches). Among the major necessary investments, the nation required $199 billion for transmission and distribution systems, $67 billion for treatment systems, and $39 billion for water storage. The needs are greater than $1,000 per person in five regions: Far West, Great Lakes, Mid-Atlantic, Plains, and Southwest. Capital spending has not kept pace with needs for water infrastructure. The trend toward state and local governments’ assuming the bulk of the investment requirements in the coming decades will continue, with local governments’ paying an increasing share of the costs. In 2008, state and local governments estimated their total expenditures at $93 billion annually for wastewater and drinking water infrastructure. Congressional appropriations have declined over the five-year period 2008 to 2012, totaling only $6.9 billion—an average of $1.38 billion annually or $27.6 billion over 20 years, 8% of EPA’s identified needs over 20 years.]
Hazardous Waste systems’
grade remained unchanged at a D. The undeniable success in the cleanup of the nation’s hazardous waste is diminished by a severe budgetary shortfall for Superfund and brownfield site cleanups. More than 400,000 brownfield sites await cleanup and redevelopment.
[Superfund is the common name for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), a United States federal law designed to clean up sites contaminated with hazardous substances. Where responsible parties cannot be found, the Agency is authorized to clean up sites itself, using a special trust fund. There has been undeniable success in the cleanup of the nation’s hazardous waste and brownfields sites. However, annual funding for Superfund site cleanup is estimated to be as much as $500 million short of what is needed, and 1,280 sites remain on the National Priorities List with an unknown number of potential sites yet to be identified. More than 400,000 brownfields sites await cleanup and redevelopment....Since 1980, the EPA has investigated more than 47,000 sites suspected of releasing hazardous substances into the environment. Just over 1,600 sites have been placed on the NPL, and cleanup has been implemented at more than two-thirds of those sites. The EPA is also charged with identifying the parties responsible for contamination of NPL sites and enforcing the cleanup of sites. Organizations that EPA has deemed “potentially responsible parties” have funded cleanup of more than 70% of the sites on the NPL, at an estimated value of nearly $30 billion. That still leaves a lot of sites that are not funded by responsible parties. The reasons for this are many but include the party no longer exists or has no money. Even as needs have grown, annual congressional appropriations for Superfund have declined by 40% since its peak of $2 billion in 1998. The Superfund program has in the past received funding from two sources: general funds from the U.S.Treasury and balances in the Superfund trust fund. Prior to 1996, revenues for the trust fund came from dedicated excise taxes and an environmental corporate income tax. Those taxes expired in December 1995 and have not be replaced.]
Levees again earned a near failing grade of D-. The U.S. does not have a levee safety program. Public safety remains at risk as roughly $100 billion is needed to repair the nation’s estimated 100,000 miles of levees that increasingly are protecting developed communities. However, the return on investment is clear. Levees helped to prevent more than $141 billion in flood damages in 2011.
Solid Waste systems
earned the highest grade in 2013 of a B-. In 2010, Americans recycled 85 million tons of the 250 million tons of trash generated. This represents a 34 percent recycling rate, more than double the 14.5 percent recycled in 1980.
Wastewater systems improved slightly to a grade of D. Capital investment needs for the nation’s wastewater and stormwater systems, namely to fix and expand pipes to address sanitary sewer overflows, combined sewer overflows, and other pipe-related issues, are estimated to total $298 billion over the next 20 years.
