Underground Construction - February 2022 - 16
24th Annual Municipal Sewer/Water Infrastructure Forecast
Consent decrees
Th e result has been a decrepit and failing
sewer and water systems for much of the
country, wildly out of compliance with
EPA rules and regulations for the public
safety of America's citizens. Since the
late 1980s, EPA has forced many cities
into compliance by fi ling lawsuits and
ultimately negotiating " consent decrees "
which generally means a city agrees to
invest a certain amount of dollars over a
fi nite period of years to upgrade, repair and
rehabilitate systems to modern standards.
In essence, a consent decree forces cities to
do whatever it takes fi nancially to reinvest
in their sewer and water systems.
And it's not as if city managers and
public works directors are not aware of
their often-substandard systems. A U.S.
Department of Justice attorney who was
part of a team assigned to prosecute outof-compliance
cities for the EPA, once
revealed to Underground Construction that
in 99 percent of all legal fi lings, cities may
employ their legal teams to negotiate
more favorable terms or buy time, but the
cities rarely claim they are erroneously
being prosecuted.
When Using Trenchless Methods, how often are the following technologies used:
57%
Spray-type manhole
Point repairs
CIPP
Chemical root control
HDD
Lateral lining
Pipe bursting
Folded pipe
Microtunneling
Pipe ramming
Sliplining
16%
5%
5%
3%
Ideally, how much money is needed to address your immediate near-term needs?
4
355
3
220
2
115
1
89
31
Sewer
Water
2022
16 FEBRUARY 2022 | UCONonline.com
Storm Water
Sewer
Water
Near term, 5 years
Storm Water
91
21%
27%
25%
28%
47%
39%
" About the only people who may be
shocked when the EPA comes calling is city
councils or offi cials who have mistakenly
ignored information from their public
works personnel over the years; the cities
know they are out of compliance, " the DOJ
attorney explained.
So why worry about consent decrees now,
in the new federal funding land of milk
and honey? It's all about the numbers. Th is
survey revealed, again, how much additional
money is needed to fully bring systems up
to standards. Comparing that to how much
funding is available - even with the new
Infrastructure Bill amounts - the country's
cities are still operating at a defi cit. Many
will receive precious relief in 2022 through
2026, but for only a few will it be enough
money to solve their layers of sewer and
water system problems. And in 2027, the
subsequent spending gravy train will expire.
For example, city personnel themselves
project their near-term funding needs
for sewer, water and stormwater at $235
billion dollars and $665 billion long-term.
Th at's a far cry from the $44 billion in
new government funding over the next
fi ve years. But it's an important start, as
long as cities realize the need to continue
aggressive funding schemes.
" We're partially through consent decree
program and it's going well, " explained one
muni offi cial. " But it's a shame we waited
until we got on the south side of the EPA -
we all knew the consequences. "
COVID-19 has had a major impact on
markets since 2020. As of this writing,
the Omicron variant was raging across
the country and the world. But its health
impacts upon most people were relatively
meek compared to previous iterations.
Expectations are for Omicron, as highly
infectious as it is, to quickly burn itself out
by spring, if not earlier. According to many
experts, COVID is on its way to becoming
endemic, but will not carry the threat
that it did in 2020. Most city personnel
responding to this survey felt that their
operations were or would largely return to
normal early in 2022.
Optimism
As we enter 2022, there is legitimate
reason for hope among the sewer and
water communities of owners, consulting
engineers,
contractors and vendors, as
Billions
http://www.UCONonline.com
Underground Construction - February 2022
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Underground Construction - February 2022
Contents
Underground Construction - February 2022 - Cover1
Underground Construction - February 2022 - Cover2
Underground Construction - February 2022 - Contents
Underground Construction - February 2022 - 4
Underground Construction - February 2022 - 5
Underground Construction - February 2022 - 6
Underground Construction - February 2022 - 7
Underground Construction - February 2022 - 8
Underground Construction - February 2022 - 9
Underground Construction - February 2022 - 10
Underground Construction - February 2022 - 11
Underground Construction - February 2022 - 12
Underground Construction - February 2022 - 13
Underground Construction - February 2022 - 14
Underground Construction - February 2022 - 15
Underground Construction - February 2022 - 16
Underground Construction - February 2022 - 17
Underground Construction - February 2022 - 18
Underground Construction - February 2022 - 19
Underground Construction - February 2022 - 20
Underground Construction - February 2022 - 21
Underground Construction - February 2022 - 22
Underground Construction - February 2022 - 23
Underground Construction - February 2022 - 24
Underground Construction - February 2022 - 25
Underground Construction - February 2022 - 26
Underground Construction - February 2022 - 27
Underground Construction - February 2022 - 28
Underground Construction - February 2022 - 29
Underground Construction - February 2022 - 30
Underground Construction - February 2022 - 31
Underground Construction - February 2022 - 32
Underground Construction - February 2022 - 33
Underground Construction - February 2022 - 34
Underground Construction - February 2022 - 35
Underground Construction - February 2022 - 36
Underground Construction - February 2022 - 37
Underground Construction - February 2022 - 38
Underground Construction - February 2022 - 39
Underground Construction - February 2022 - 40
Underground Construction - February 2022 - 41
Underground Construction - February 2022 - 42
Underground Construction - February 2022 - Cover3
Underground Construction - February 2022 - Cover4
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