Episode 21: Water Infrastructure with Will Sarni (Water Foundry, LLC)
Water infrastructure refers to the immense underground highway of pipes that brings us our life-sustaining resource (and takes it away after we do our business). It also allowed plenty of bad jokes to flow through our pipes during the recording. Today's guest is Will Sarni, an expert in water technology and corporate water strategies, who recently wrote a report for Deloitte on the state of U.S. water infrastructure. Spoiler alert: it's in bad shape. It's a trillion dollar problem that will only get worse if we kick the can down the road. Will tells us how bad the problem is and how technology, public and private spending, and citizen engagement can help solve it.
Learn more about sustainable cities here!
*Updated* Episode Intro Notes
Why is water infrastructure important?
One good source we didn’t really talk about in our original episode is the drinking water section is American Society of Civil Engineers Report Card for America’s Infrastructure. ASCE gave U.S. drinking water a C- in its 2021 report card.
Some interesting basic facts from there
Our nation’s drinking water infrastructure system is made up of 2.2 million miles of underground pipes.
In our original episode, we said that the U.S. has 1.2 million miles of water mains (pipes that go from the purification plant to customer systems)—26 miles of water mains for every mile of interstate highway. So now there’s your overall number, one million more miles!
We talked about water main breaks in our original episode. Some additional stats: there is a water main break every two minutes and an estimated 6 billion gallons of treated water lost each day in the U.S. enough to fill over 9,000 swimming pools.
People use around 82 gallons of water per person, per day in the United States.
Nearly half of water utilities report declining or flat total water sales in the past 10 years, largely due to efficiency improvements.
About 39 billion gallons of water a day are withdrawn from surface water or groundwater sources for public supply. Public supply use represents about 12% of total freshwater withdrawals.
The report card notes provide some new and additional details on problems with our water infrastructure
Much of the current drinking water workforce is expected to retire in the coming decade.
Between 2016 and 2026, an estimated 10.6% of water sector workers will retire or transfer each year, with some utilities expecting as much as half of their staff to retire in the next five to 10 years.
So that could certainly be a ripe area for definers looking for a sustainable career!
We mentioned in the original episode that fixing our water infrastructure will take $1 trillion over 25 years. That seems like a lowball estimate given the numbers we are now hearing.
ASCE’s 2020 economic study, “The Economic Benefits of Investing in Water Infrastructure: How a Failure to Act Would Affect the U.S. Economic Recovery” found that over 20 years, the cumulative water and wastewater capital investment need will soar to $3.27 trillion, and the cumulative capital investment gap - essentially what’s needed versus what’s actually invested - will total $2.2 trillion—nearly $6,000 for every adult and child expected to be living in the United States in 2039.
Additionally, the cost to comply with the EPA’s 2019 Lead and Copper Rule is estimated to be between $130 million and $286 million.
The report card notes some progress
It is estimated that more than 12,000 miles of water pipes were planned to be replaced by drinking water utilities across the country in the year 2020 alone.
Although this may seem like a lot, it’s pretty small compared to the couple million miles we talked about earlier.
In 2019, about a third of all utilities had a robust asset management program in place to help prioritize their capital and operations/maintenance investments, which is an increase from 20% in 2016.
Water utilities are improving their resilience by developing and updating risk assessments and emergency response plans, as well as deploying innovative water technologies like sensors and smart water quality monitoring.
This makes sense considering The America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 required community water systems serving more than 3,300 people to develop or update risk assessments and emergency response plans (ERPs). The law sets deadlines, all before December 2021, by which water systems must complete and submit the risk assessment and ERP to the EPA.
In 2019, the number of public water systems with health-based violations was 15% lower than in 2017, and public water systems that were returned to Safe Drinking Water Act compliance increased nearly 7% compared to 2017.
Recent water infrastructure news from the big infrastructure bill and droughts
There is currently under consideration a $1 trillion “hard” infrastructure bill in the United States that looks likely to pass. As the White House press release touts regarding the bill, it “makes the largest investment in clean drinking water and wastewater infrastructure in American history, delivering clean water to millions of families.” It will replace all of the nation’s lead pipes and service lines. It will invest all over the country, seeking to make inroads with the up to 10 million American households and 400,000 schools and child care centers that lack safe drinking water.
What kind of pipe as replacement? Legacy materials include ductile iron, steel, and concrete. Newer materials include pre-stressed concrete and certain kinds of plastic. Plastic can be cheaper to buy and easier to install, but it doesn’t last as long, and there is some research on harmful leaching of chemicals from plastic pipes.
The current drought in the United States is causing issues for drinking water, farmers, and many others.
For the first time ever, the U.S. government declared a shortage on the Colorado River. Forty million people rely on this river for their drinking water.
No wonder NPR had a story in June 2021 on Fountain, Colorado where they are telling developers you can’t build here because we don’t have the water available to provide to these new homes.
Of course, we should also note that like the rest of the world, whether things are getting wetter or drier depends on where you live. The New York Times had a recent article showing the wetter east and drier west divide in the United States.
WATER EQUITY
Water equity, as defined by the U.S. Water Alliance, is present when all communities:
(1) have access to safe, clean, affordable drinking water and wastewater services;
(2) are resilient in the face of floods, drought, and other climate risks;
(3) have a role in decision-making processes related to water management in their communities;
(4) share in the economic, social, and environmental benefits of water systems.
We’ve been learning about how the history in the U.S. of redlining and other practices that led to the segregated communities we still have in too many places today also led to a lack of water equity. There’s much more to what led to segregation in housing, but one primary driver was the Federal Housing Administration only guaranteeing loans to White Americans. As residential segregation increased, municipalities could more easily exclude communities of color from water and sewer services through a practice known as “underbounding,” whereby municipalities selectively annexed white neighborhoods into the town’s official boundaries while ignoring African American neighborhoods.
For example, in the 1960s, Roanoke, VA did not extend water and sanitation lines to the nearby predominantly African American town of Hollins.
Also, there are communities across the U.S. that still do not have access to drinking water or wastewater services because of the intersecting forces of structural racism, poverty, and inequitable access to subsidies.
For example, an estimated 30-40% of the Navajo Nation does not have access to drinking water within their homes. The lack of access to running water, a necessity during a pandemic to disinfect and clean surfaces, contributed to the high infection rates per capita in the Navajo Nation compared to other states.
We could do a whole show on water equity (and we probably should). We’re leaving a lot out here. We’re going to link to a great report titled “Water Affordability & Equity: Re-Imagining Water Services.” It’s a 2020 report from the Aspen Institute and Duke University’s Nicholas Institute. That’s where we got the above information and there’s so much more there. We encourage you to check it out.
Our original episode was very U.S.-centric so we wanted to include a little bit on the global water infrastructure situation and news.
Sadly, according to a 2017 study, unsafe water sources are responsible for 1.2 million deaths each year. That is 2.2% of all deaths globally.
One in four people do not have access to safe drinking water.
So we’re far from the U.N. Sustainable Development goal to “achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all” by 2030.” Global estimates to reach this goal range from $ 6.7 trillion by 2030 to $ 22.6 trillion by 2050.
Not enough investment is going into water infrastructure. Of the hundreds of billions in climate finance devoted to developing countries in recent years, projects involving water made up less than 1% in 2016.
This is crazy because treating wastewater can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and improving water access helps along environmental, social, and economic fronts.
For those interested in donating to those working on water scarcity globally, here is a link to Donorbox’s top ten nonprofits fighting the global water crisis.
WATER TECH ADvancements
We had a section on entrepreneurs and water tech in our original episode. Here’s some more we recently read about
Smart sensors are seeing a lot of new entrants. “Smart” systems can monitor water digitally and remotely, immediately detecting issues like shortages, leaks, and contaminants.
One company offering this tech is KETOS. It’s among the few that can remotely detect heavy metals like arsenic and lead. It can also analyze data to predict major shortages and contamination before they happen.
The global smart water management market size is expected to grow from $ 11.7 billion in 2019 to $ 21.4 billion by 2024.
A 2021 report titled “The Digital Capabilities of U.S. Water Utilities” shows that data is important to water utilities, but they have a ways to go. While the report finds 87% of water utilities gather data digitally, many report not collecting information available to them, the data is not centralized, and other issues. For example, 80% of respondents said data quality and quantity are a concern. Further, nearly as many are concerned about the lack of internal staff with the necessary digital skills (74%) and resistance to change (70%). Hopefully, more digital solutions serve this sector and there is funding to properly install and service it.
Mobile water treatment is a growing area since it can reach remote areas and avoid the need to build out extensive water infrastructure
One company offering innovative technology in this space is OffGridBox. It’s a 2m X 2m X 2m solar-powered shipping container that provides clean energy as well as clean water. It has a water collection system to capture rain and then some of the energy is used to power a built-in water treatment system. It can be set up in just four hours. It’s been installed in 16 countries, mostly in Tanzania and Rwanda. About 1,500 people can be served per unit.
Women and girls spend 200 million hours every day collecting water. This technology can revolutionize lives.
Similarly, a company called Source Global sells what they call “hydropanels” that use the sun to power the unit and utilizes the process of passive condensation to extract water molecules from the air to generate pure drinking water. In this way, it turns the moisture in the air into drinking water.
WILL SARNI UPDATE
Still the founder and CEO of The Water Foundry
Also, in 2021, he became a founder and general partner in The Colorado River Basin Fund. This is a private equity fund that seeks to invest in innovative water technologies addressing water scarcity and quality issues in the basin. It’s the first placed-based water-focused investment fund in the United States.
Along with Tom Freyburg, Will hosts a podcast called The Stream. It started in April 2020 and they are now in the midst of season 3. On the podcast, they have unscripted conversations with guests who reject the status quo with a bias for action, in the world of water and beyond. Check it out!
Original Episode Intro Notes
What We'll Cover
Why water infrastructure is important
How expansive our water infrastructure system is
The current state of our water infrastructure (spoiler alert, it’s not so great)
How much it will cost to fix our water infrastructure (spoiler alert, it’s a lot)
Latest and greatest tech to reduce our water use
Why is water infrastructure important?
Our water infrastructure handles all kinds of things for us, things that we never really have to think about. It takes away things like rain water and wastewater from our homes while bringing in safe (hopefully) drinking water and water for fire suppression.
There are different types of water treatment providers including not-for-profit community water systems and small systems that only serve a couple thousand people, but 76% of the U.S. population gets their water from publicly-owned treatment works (i.e., owned and operated by a government agency, normally a local municipality) (2) so if their infrastructure is in bad shape, that could mean inefficient or harmful delivery of water for many people.
Still doubtful as to why you should care about our water infrastructure? Consider a combined sewer overflow infrastructure system, in which rainwater and wastewater are both channeled into a single pipe. When there is too much water in the system due to something like a heavy rain and the water treatment plant can’t keep up, water that would’ve been handled by the infrastructure is sent directly into waterways *untreated* to avoid backups into our homes. Do you want that in your waterways? Nope, didn't think so.
How Expansive is our Water Infrastructure?
In addition to the miles of sewer pipes, the U.S. has 1.2 million miles of water mains (pipes that go from the purification plant to customer systems)—26 miles of water mains for every mile of interstate highway (2, 3).
The Current State of our Water Infrastructure
Pipes can range from 15 to 100 years old depending on conditions, although some older northeastern cities operate with pipes that are 200 years old (2). These old pipes pose problems because they lead to all kinds of inefficiencies. For example:
There an estimated 240,000 water main breaks per year in the US, which is 650 per day (2). In other words, on average every mile of water pipe suffers a break every six years (9).
U.S. water utilities lose one out of seven gallons of drinking water they supply before it arrives at a customer (9).
The direct cost of these leaks is $2.6 billion a year. This cost not only impacts residential users but also businesses of all kinds. The cumulative cost to households from a degrading water infrastructure will be $59 billion from 2013-2020 and the cost to business will be well more than double that, at $147 billion (20).
These old pipes are also part of a system that can’t handle our water use and leads to discharge of untreated water into our waterways. The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that aging pipes and inadequate capacity resulted in the discharge of 900 billion gallons of untreated sewage and wastewater into U.S. waterways each year (2).
How much it will cost to fix our water infrastructure?
The American Water Works Association estimates that restoring existing water systems as they reach the end of their useful lives and expanding them to serve a growing population will cost at least $1 trillion over the next 25 years (1). This estimate is just for drinking water pipes; sewer lines, stormwater, and the water treatment plants aren’t even included. Replacement needs account for about 54% of the national total, with about 46% attributable to population growth and migration over that period. It’s expected that more than 56 million new users will be connected to centralized treatment systems over the next two decades, which will be a 23% increase in demand (10). Postponement will increase these costs and also increase the odds of facing the high costs associated with water main breaks and other infrastructure failures (1).
Get this - 95% of spending on water infrastructure is made at the local level (10). However, the federal government does expend some funds on water infrastructure, mainly through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund and the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund:
The Clean Water State Revolving Fund was established in 1987 with amendments to the Clean Water Act. EPA puts money into these state-run revolving funds, and states give a 20% match of whatever is put in. This money is loaned out at below market rates for high priority water quality activities and the money that is paid back on the loan is used to fund more water projects (hence why it’s called a revolving fund). To date, there have been $111.2 billion in funding for water quality infrastructure projects and more than 36,000 loan agreements (11).
The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund was established in 1996 with amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act. Similar structure with state-run revolving funds and the 20% match but for drinking water infrastructure projects. This program has provided more than $32 billion through close to 13,000 assistance agreements (12).
Basically, fixing our water system is not going be to an easy or cheap thing to do. It's about a trillion-dollar problem that nobody’s talking about. Except us... and Will Sarni.
Innovations in Water Tech
This space is a huge entrepreneurial opportunity for any of our listeners interested in the space. As Will attests, there’s much innovation that needs to happen. Here are a few of our favorites.
Washington-based Apana applies “Internet of Things” and analytics to help companies plug leaks that lose water and money, and wants companies to "control water like inventory." (15). Apana scans water infrastructure to detect mechanical breakdowns and give directions to fix the problems before they accumulate. They claim that their customers are returning 18%-25% of their water and sewer costs to their bottom line (16). For example, its biggest customer is the Costco, where the system reduced water use by 22 percent (15).
Aquafresco created a water-top recycling system that allows you to use the same batch of water and detergent for six months of laundry. They have proprietary technology that removes the organic waste but not the detergent from the water. It claims that its technology can reduce 95% of water and detergent use in washer machines (17). Or you could also just not wash your clothes at all…
One thing we do know is that major companies are going to be looking for this kind of new tech to mitigate its water risks. Companies that filled out CDP’s survey expect over half of the 4,416 water risks they identified through CDP in 2016—such as drought, declining water quality, and regulatory and reputational risks— to materialize within the next six years (14).
Further, while our situation in the US is not great, worldwide water infrastructure and treatment is a major issue too. Chew (sip, rather) on the following facts:
More than 80 percent of wastewater worldwide is released without treatment, contaminating rivers and lakes (4). The result is that every 90 seconds a child dies from water-related diseases (13).
On average, low-income countries treat only 8 percent of domestic and industrial wastewater. High-income countries treat 70 percent (4).
The total cost to water utilities caused by lost water worldwide can be conservatively estimated at $141 billion per year, with a third of it occurring in the developing world. In developing countries, the amount of water lost through leakage is enough to serve nearly 200 million people (6).
About Will Sarni
Will is the Founder and Principal of Water Foundry LLC, where he helps companies develop and implement corporate-wide water strategies. An internationally recognized thought leader on water strategies, Will is a columnist on sustainability and water strategies and has authored numerous articles and presented on; the value of water, water technology innovation, agriculture and the Internet of Things and the energy water food nexus.
Sources Cited:
http://www.awwa.org/Portals/0/files/legreg/documents/BuriedNoLonger.pdf
https://bipartisanpolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/BPC-Aging-Water-Infrastructure.pdf
http://www.voanews.com/a/world-water-day-wastewater/3777323.html
http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/water-and-sanitation/
https://www.wateronline.com/doc/report-reveals-high-cost-non-revenue-water-0001
https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-04/documents/epa816f13002.pdf
http://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Wastewater-Final.pdf
https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-03/documents/cwsrfinfographic-030116.pdf
https://www.epa.gov/drinkingwatersrf/how-drinking-water-state-revolving-fund-works#tab-1
https://www.greenbiz.com/article/compelling-new-data-why-we-shouldnt-waste-wastewater
https://www.greenbiz.com/article/circular-water-companies-make-splash-heard-round-world
https://techcrunch.com/2017/03/16/utilis-takes-top-water-innovation-prize-at-imagine-h2o/
https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/drinking/public/water_treatment.html