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"One of the things the environmental law clinic at Northwestern does is identify municipal water/sewer systems that are not in compliance with the Clean Water A
by s73ver_ 9y ago
"One of the things the environmental law clinic at Northwestern does is identify municipal water/sewer systems that are not in compliance with the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act. There are many such systems, and invariably they remain out of compliance because citizens are unwilling to raise water/sewer rates to fix the infrastructure."
Well, why should they have to? The main purpose of the water/sewer company is to provide service in compliance with that act. If costs have risen due to the natural order of things, that's one thing. But in many cases, it seems like the maintenance has been neglected on purpose, in order to benefit shareholders. And now you want me to pay more to do what you should have been doing in the first damn place?
- rayiner 9y agoYou're right that a lot of the cost increases is due to maintenance that has been neglected over the years. You're wrong in blaming shareholders--almost all U.S. water/sewer systems are run by municipal utilities. Taxpayers are shortsighted too, perhaps even more so than shareholders. Because water/sewer rates are subject to public regulation, there is a huge push to keep rates low. Consequently, needed upgrades (e.g. replacing lead water pipes) and general maintenance fall by the wayside.