It has come to light that the provincial government of Ontario (in Canada) is planning to spend $200 million from a new health care "tax" on programs related to sewer, water and wastewater (and other) improvements - under the general umbrella of "well-being".

Source: The Globe and Mail, June 15, 2004.

A water main break, in the form of a "very small hole", has reportedly forced residents of Thedford (Ontario, Canada) to boil or import their drinking water. The water pipe concerned was reportedly holed under the Ausable River.

Source: The London Free Press; Saturday, May 1, 2004, Page B4.

Under the title "Dry Faucets Enrage Italians", an article in U.S. Water News Online (July 2002) has highlighted major leakage (40% estimate) in Italy's aging water pipelines. To quote "... in a country where the genius of ancient Roman engineers can still be seen in the ruins of aqueducts, the poor upkeep of the modern day water network is embarrassing." Such problems are not unique to Italy ...

It has been reported that rebuilding the city of Toronto's aging water and sewage system (described as "crumbling") will double water prices in the next 8-10 years. More than 50% of 5000 km of water lines and more than 30% of the 10000 km of sewer pipe are reportedly more than half a century old.

Source: The Globe and Mail, October 23, 2002, p. A24.

Water Mains - Economic Benefits of Cathodic Protection: The Institute for Research in Construction (IRC) of the National Research Council Canada (NRC) has published an article on this subject - link to the article at http://www.nrc.ca/irc/newsletter/v7no2/study_e.html

The IRC study illustrates a methodology for addressing the widespread problem of excessive leaks in aging water distribution systems (link to water pipelines and water Facts&Figures on corrosion-club.com).

Click on image to enlarge
Image courtsey of PPT, Pipeline Performance Technologies, South Africa

The City of Waterloo (Ontario, Canada) has reportedly received more than 3000 complaints since 1998 about water discoloration, associated with corrosion of aging cast iron mains (average age: 60 years). The rehabilitation of the old corroding pipes is anticipated to require an increase in the water bills of residents.

Source: Kitchener-Waterloo Record, September 18, 2001 "Water main overhaul in Waterloo could cost millions"

It has been reported that, in a remote Turkish village, a group of women has declared their bedrooms as off-limits to their husbands - until the village's water system is fixed by these men. This report ran under the title "Turkish Water Torture" in the Toronto Sun newspaper of August 15, 2001.

The following qoute has been attributed to the Executive Director of the Ontario Sewer and Watermain Construction Association in the Toronto Star of July 12, 2001.

"What is out-of-sight, or underground is out of mind. And let's face it, a hockey rink is a lot easier to sell at election time than water and sewage improvements."

There are approximately 54,000 community water systems in the United States, with about 93% of these systems in the small category (less than 3,300 users).

Source: United States Environmental Protection Agency, Report EPA-816-R-00-023, 2000.