US Water and Wastewater Critical Infrastructure

Abstract

There is general concern over the protection of water and wastewater infrastructure in the United States from natural and man-made threats. Substantial water supply and wastewater infrastructure has been constructed in the United States including extensive storage and distribution facilities especially in the West and Southwest. Drinking water in the United States is regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974 and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act or Clean Water Act of 1948 is the principal law that regulates the pollution discharged into the nation’s streams, lakes, and estuaries. There are over 162,000 water systems in the United States that meet the federal definition of a public water system. It is estimated that there are 980,000 miles (1.6 × 106 km) of distribution system pipes. There are 16,024 publicly owned treatment plants in the United States and all but 200 provide secondary treatment. In many older cities sanitary sewage and storm water runoff are collected in a single sewage system and are vulnerable to sanitary sewer overflow during peak rainfall events. It is estimated that substantially increased investment will be required to maintain adequate water and wastewater systems in the United States.