Free Sustainable Water Infrastructure Essay Sample
The traditional National Drinking Water and Wastewater Management Authority Infrastructure are old and it is nearly a century since their installation. The piping is made of the traditional materials which are not effective to support water drainage in the 21st century, a thing that calls for better ways of sorting out some of these issues (Merchant, 16). Water infrastructure has been corroded and the services of its outlay are not practical. Piping has been destroyed, and the water delivery mechanisms are often blocked by the corroded pipes which is not only dangerous but a health hazard as well.
The policies that surround it are related to the poor investment in the industry and this makes it hard for the organization to replace its infrastructure. Due to this, the customers of the national water industry are left to consume not fit for consumption waters. The installation of sustainable water infrastructure and investment is an issue that is critical and requires a long-term solution. This makes it to be a case that this paper is set to address towards through the most practical solution strategies.
This is work is set to be a boost to the negotiators in the National water Infrastructure and investment conferences and other related seminars. It is critical for the negotiators to have significant information on how to have effective national water infrastructure base. They should be aware of the;
- The infrastructure confront that the drinking as well as the wastewater industry is currently grappling with as it tries to deliver reasonably to all of its customers. It is critical for one to address the issues affecting the sector efficiently, to be aware of the infrastructural confronting that the industry is facing. It is the initial step towards a solution to have full realization of the issues that are facing the industry, and the bottlenecks that are holding their mitigation. For a practical approach to the sustainable water infrastructure, it is therefore reasonable to first familiarize oneself with the current situation on the ground.
- The strategies to meet the infrastructure challenges that have been proposed by the involved and affected parties. It is positive to be aware of the likely approaches' that have been advocated for by the involved parties as far as the national water infrastructure and investment upgrading is concerned. This gives room for each of the parties involved to have contributions, which are relevant as per the scope of the issues at hand.
- The relative public policy and the company questions; those are necessary to be resolved. Being ware of the public policies and the national water company questions, makes it easy for the negotiators of the sustainable water infrastructure and investment to table workable solutions to the matters at hand. It is a step that is critical as far as a strategy to the issue is considered.
- The penalty of a persistence lack of declaration on the water infrastructure issue. The consequences of having to take too long to respond to the drinking water and wastewater issues should be known to the negotiators as well. This is because; they will be flexible enough to accommodate the practical approaches to prevent a stalemate.
- What the national water governing body do believe on as the strategies that the government, the nation as well as the industry should pursue towards the meeting of the water infrastructure challenges, and
- What are the likely to be the backing sources. These may for instance cater for the costs of addressing the water infrastructural challenge.
The water infrastructure gap is supposed to be closed by the consumers or the customers in the particular industry (Merchant, 45). This can be achieved through the charging of full cost on the service rates. It is sensible to partake this approach because it is easier to link the drinking water customers with the relative services that they are accorded. The national; water management services are not at provision to individual clients; rather, these services are benefiting the synergy of the entire community.
Due to the national nature of the water infrastructural issues as well as their collective impact on the citizens, the optimal strategies for having to put into control and close the gap on water infrastructure and investment are critical and crucial. Due to the communal benefits of having practical water infrastructure and management in place, various methodologies of taxation at the local as well as the federal level may be a boost towards the most equitable approach to pay for better infrastructure in water management. The tax levies that are received could be availed to the drinking and the wastewater utilities. This is possible to be done in forms of grants that would assist in offsetting the costs of the national water management.
Why so much of the water infrastructure needs to be replaced
In 2006 Drinking and wastewater needs survey estimated that the drinking water requires for a span of 20 years $ 276.7 billion. Against this amount, 75% was allocated to the distribution and transmission of water. The reminder 19% percent would be allocated for water treatment and these figures were replicated when a survey was partaken on wastewater scope.
The main reason as to why an unparalleled amount of piping has to be replaced or renewed over the next few years is due to corrosion action. In the drinking water, the traditional pipes were made of the cast Iron and due to its brittleness, these pipes were supposed to be thick enough to withstand the stresses they were subjected to. Steel pipes came afterwards. Despite the change of the pipes, corrosion still took place at the same rates. Today the thicker and stronger pipes installed sometimes back are reaching the end of their useful lifespan hence the unprecedented drinking water and wastewater piping must be replaced in the next few years, an undertaking that would inevitably raise the costs.
Consequences of the substantial replacement
The water effect on the utilities is that the initial capital expenditures on the national water pipe replacement have to go up to surpass the initial investments on the undertaking. The most obvious place to get the capital needed to undertake the project is from the clients who are the industry customers. This can be facilitated by the only option of undertaking a charge of higher water rates. The public without significant oppositions rarely accepts the water rates increment; hence, the attempts by some of the stakeholders to secure a significant funding from the federal government would be significant.
Other progresses will as well in a significant way result to an increase in the provision of safe and reliable water and proper sanitation services are inclusive of the new and more inflexible drinking water principles and the more stringent affluent limits. The other factors include global warming that is proving to be a threat and a complication of the raw water sources management. It will be critical to enhance the security levels at the national drinking and wastewater utilities.
Strategies for meeting these disputes
There is a continuum of strategies to meet the infrastructure, and the other challenges that national water provision infrastructure faces. These are now being considered by the national water industry as well as the congress. These strategies include:
- Having the national federal government chip in and make payments for the greater infrastructure replacement. This would result to the subsidizing of everyone's water rates for an indefinite time in future. It is significantly cheaper and favorable to the consumer when the federal government is made to cater for the bigger percentage of water infrastructure upgrading for its citizens. This does relief its citizens the burden which makes it more practical to have lowered water rates.
- The second strategy would be to have the federal administration reimburse for a noteworthy portion of what is regarded as the replacement infrastructure. This approach would see all the clients benefit nationwide from this subsidy. The customer's would easily settle the remainders after the government pay because they fully realize the importance of having a practical water infrastructure in place, modernized and different from the traditional kind.
- Having customers who can afford pay for the replacement of the water infrastructure through the full cost of the service rates is yet another approach to the issue. This is only possible with the federal government provision of subsidies. Such subsidies can be through the low interest loans and tax incentives amongst other possible approaches. The clients who are not economically fit to offset the full service rates costs, would have their water bills subsidized. This is through the amalgamation of the federal, local as well as the state and local administration assistance on top of other charitable support.
- The other strategy include, having all customers pay for the infrastructure through a full cost of service rate regardless of its affordability. This is harsh but is will involve setting up the amount that a particular client is supposed to pay as far as the water infrastructure is concerned and then ask each of them to fulfill the obligation, despite the ability to offset it o not. It is a strategy that can as well work out and will involve a longer duration for gathering the finances to start the project.
Industry debate on who should pay for infrastructure
The above strategies reflect on a fundamental disagreement in the national water industry regarding how much of infrastructure should be paid by the federal administration versus what the utility customers are supposed to offset. The affordability is a problem and its address is significant. Some stakeholders have a believe that the customers are supposed to fully offset the infrastructural financial cries while others argue that the consumer is already paying enough and it's the federal government is supposed to put mote then they are currently. Lack of effective resolutions to such issues has resulted to infrastructure deferral in our water industry, which has resulted to an investment gap. It does as well result to major inconsistencies on the ways to deal with the affordability issues.
The customers pay for utilities fully in many nations. In the water sector, the high fixed charges, and the related economies of scale are crucial in the costs address. The significant cost disparity do raise the affordability issues of water services in diminutive communities, more so if the rates are raised to the levels desirable to sustain the cost of infrastructure substitution. To get the clients to offset the full service of water requires the reasonable marketing on our part, which does as well involve the persuading our clientele of the following;
That the particular team charged with management is effective and efficient in the running of the establishment affairs and undertakings. Secondly, the investments on infrastructure are essential and practical for an unremitting way of meeting the principles and supply the levels of service expected by the customers and for the new infrastructure as well as investment replacement. On third, the utility is pursuing a financing and design that in addition to the management approach assures the customers are getting incredibly cost efficient outcomes.
The embracing of the above strategies towards sustainable water infrastructure and investment issues does call for the national water management board to ensure that they are able to manage the administrative roles effectively. It is through their continued effective management that the solution will be made available to the issues that surround the phenomenon. The political support as well is critical to the implementation of the elucidation to the Sustainable water infrastructure and investment issues solution strategies.
Political support does influence the federal government involvement in the issue a thing that ensures all that was set to be achieved is actually realized by the ruling power role-playing. Legal leanings should as well be assessed and their impacts revaluated towards any approach to the Sustainable water infrastructure and investment issues solution strategies. It is only practical to have the legally promoted approaches to the Sustainable water infrastructure and investment issues solution strategies as opposed to the illegal undertakings. These may be cases such as forcefully asking the consumers to pay certain amounts of money towards the Sustainable water infrastructure and investment issues solution strategies.
From these perspectives, it is thus practical to argue that the Sustainable water infrastructure and investment issues solution strategies are practical and utilization of the proposed methodologies would result to realization of sustainable answer to Sustainable water infrastructure and investment issues. A sustainable answer would be favorable to the government, the benefits would surpass the communal needs to indefinite harvest of advantages for the national Sustainable water infrastructure, and investment issues solution strategies.