The findings of a newly released report from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) underscore the challenges facing municipalities as they work to upgrade wastewater treatment facilities.

The EPA commissioned the study to determine how much money, exactly, municipalities need to invest to upgrade and modernize antiquated wastewater treatment plants. The nation's sewage and wastewater treatment systems are in dire need of repairs after decades of neglect, according to the study's findings. The report's authors estimated U.S. municipalities need to invest more than $300 billion over the next 20 years in order to reverse years of neglect.

The Associated Press reports that the study concluded certain regions of the U.S. need repair work more than others. For example, the study found the U.S. Northeast needs a substantial amount of investment in order to serve the needs of the millions of people who live there, according to the news provider.

States with the oldest sewage and wastewater treatment systems require the most investment over the next two decades, according to the EPA study. The study authors estimated New York must spend approximately $29.7 billion on improving its wastewater treatment system, as the state has failed to properly invest in it over the past 20 years.

While the study painted a dire picture of the nation's wastewater treatment system, lawmakers contended even more investment is necessary to counteract the effects of natural disasters and other unforeseen events on sewage and wastewater treatment. New York Senator Charles Schumer said this week the $29.7 billion figure is "just a drop in the bucket" compared to the long-term costs of continually upgrading such systems.

The EPA's Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment is updated every four years. Officials from the federal organization said that municipal wastewater treatment plant operators must secure financing to carry out necessary upgrades. However, the political gridlock in Washington is hurting their ability to secure such funding.

"EPA found that the nation's 53,000 community water systems and 21,400 not-for-profit, non-community water systems will need to invest an estimated $334.8 billion between 2007 and 2027," the report stated.

Wastewater treatment experts said that the report's findings serve as a reminder of the challenges facing local officials as they endeavor to upgrade critically important infrastructure.

"This is a very serious concern," National League of Cities representative Carolyn Berndt said. "Many communities have a long-term plan to replace all their underground water infrastructure, but even if they do a couple percentages of pipes a year, it's still going to take over 100 years for some of them to replace it all."

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Posted on February 9th, 2012 under Industrial Uses, Wastewater News