Water main breaks are only one manifestation, but a very visible sign, of our aging, crumbling drinking water infrastructure throughout the country. In Massachusetts communities alone there have been a dozen water main breaks reported in the last three months of 2007. Currently, there is no comprehensive, statewide compilation of water main miles, or of water main breaks in Massachusetts.

In January 2008, Clean Water Fund released a report which reviewed the Annual Statistical Reports filed by municipal water districts in 2006. Even with 56 of 266 Community Water Systems' data unavailable, the research revealed that in 2006 there were at least 1,970 leaks found which lost hundreds of millions of gallons of potable water from leaks in water mains.

The EPA estimates that $8 billion is needed in Massachusetts over the next 20 years to rehabilitate the aging drinking water infrastructure: $6.6 billion to replace aging water mains, $877 million for treatment plants, $622 million for water storage facilities, and $318.2 million to develop new sources for public drinking water supplies.

Improvements to drinking water infrastructure would provide many benefits to Massachusetts. It is estimated that 57,400 jobs are created for every $1 billion spend on upgrades to drinking water infrastructure. The provision of clean public drinking water preserves our standard of living and contributes to a growing economy. Proper treatment and maintenance of the drinking water infrastructure is essential to protecting and preserving public health.

$8 Billion Needed To Fix Aging State Drinking Water Infrastructure - Complete Report (pdf, 2MB)