INVESTMENTS IN WATER, WASTEWATER SUPPORT SAFETY, RELIABILITY
Utilities over time have served as solesource providers but today’s customers expect reliable service, greater access to information and a better understanding of the value of services.
Clean, safe and reliable water and proper handling of wastewater are critical operations that affect every customer. These investments are easily connected to water quality and a healthy community environment for our families and our communities.
Walker County Sole Commissioner Shannon Whitfield stated when the county’s water board recently raised water and wastewater rates, “Continuing to ignore our aging infrastructure would be a disservice to our community and harmful to our public safety.”
Federal funding for water and wastewater infrastructure also plays an important role. As taxpayers we all pay for improvements in any system that receives federal funding. Those investments should promote financial and environmental sustainability and not sustain systems that are marginally compliant.
Private water companies like Tennessee American Water are prepared to partner and assist communities that face aging infrastructure and a shortage of funds to invest to meet expected water quality standards.
Water, a finite resource, when properly used, is recycled through the wastewater system to be cleaned for future use. The standard of performance should be that our water is safe from the tap to the treatment facility. We should expect that our water and wastewater providers meet that standard.
The American Society of Civil Engineers’ 2017 Report Card grades the state of the country’s infrastructure condition and performance. One of the findings is to invest in our critical infrastructure systems. For drinking water, a majority of the pipes were laid in the early to mid20th century with an expected lifespan of 75 to 100 years, according to the report. While the quality of drinking water remains high, close attention needs to be given to our water delivery systems.
For Tennessee, the EPA has estimated that the state’s total 20-year drinking water infrastructure investment at $2.7 billion.
“The nation’s 14,748 wastewater treatment plants are the most basic and critical infrastructure systems for protecting public health and the environment,” the ASCE report stated. “Years of treatment plant upgrades and more stringent state and federal regulations have reduced untreated releases and improved water quality nationwide.”
The 2016 ASCE Tennessee report on the state’s wastewater infrastructure shows a total of $2.6 billion in needs by combining the estimate of $1.1 billion to cut rainwater leaks into sewer pipes in half with additional data in the US-EPA Clean Water Needs Survey in Tennessee.
Our water quality record speaks for itself. In our 130-year history we have not had a violation with our regulators. We participate in the voluntary Partnership for Safe Drinking Water, challenging ourselves to surpass standards.
Tennessee American Water is committed to infrastructure investments of about $16 million annually and to balance these investments with the impact on our customers. We accomplish this in part through a capital surcharge, an alternative rate mechanism introduced by Gov. Bill Haslam and passed by the state Legislature in 2013. This approach allows us to make steady investments while managing the rate impact for our customers.
Tennessee American Water knows the communities it serves and the customers that benefit from our service. We know at the end of the day, clean, safe, reliable and affordable water is what matters most to our customers.
Valoria Armstrong is president of Tennessee American Water, the largest investor-owned water utility in the state.