Opinion: The water crisis in Asheville is a call for innovation
Asheville’s recent water crisis left nearly 40,000 people without potable water service, some for more than a week. The event was caused by a failure of physical water pipes and infrastructure, but also by our collective lack of awareness of the vital systems that serve us.
When was the last time we thought twice about the availability of water in our sinks? Or stopped to consider if we were able to take our next shower? Bottom line: we pay our bills and leave the rest to others. We take for granted the essential services that support our modern way of life. And in our neglect, these systems have fallen into disrepair. They are unable to support us in our changing world.The perspective I’m offering here is developed from my education in civil engineering and urban planning, my jobs teaching science and managing public works projects, and from my experiences living in Asheville, New York and internationally. It is an attempt to meld the left and right brains of our world - the science and the art, to advocate for new systems that engage our creativity as well as function to sustain us.
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Disturbingly, but perhaps not surprisingly, the conditions that led to Asheville’s water crisis are shared across our country. The American Society of Civil Engineers issues an annual report card, which grades the performance of utility and transportation systems. In 2021, national drinking water infrastructure received a grade of C minus, barely passing.This crisis has been a long time coming. Decades of deferred maintenance has grown into a funding deficit climbing into the hundreds of billions of dollars. What was once a governmental priority at the national level, infrastructure financing commitments have steadily declined. Now, a large percentage of our infrastructure is beyond its expected service life, and the burden for maintaining and expanding these systems rests on local and state governments.
The recently passed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act offers hope that this situation will change, but it must be implemented wisely. The act will begin to materialize into real, spendable dollars for local governments like Asheville, and the competition for the funding will be tough. Local government departments are scrambling to get in line. “Shovel ready” projects are required, but it is rare for departments to have fully designed, ready to go projects sitting on the shelf. Government project managers, engineers, planners, and their private consultant teams are rushing together to finalize and deliver projects ― let’s work to ensure this haste does not come at the expense of innovation.Let this water crisis be a catalyst for creating an alternative vision: infrastructure systems that offer a high level of service and are also visible, educational and ecological; systems that engage the community and encourage us to interact. Pumping stations should include informational signage that describe what they are and how they work. Smart technology for monitoring pipe breaks should be used as teaching tools, integrated into primary/middle/high school classroom curricula. And distribution and maintenance facilities should be built with higher aesthetic design standards, celebrating their function and welcoming visits from a curious public.
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Asheville has already demonstrated its capacity to deliver multifunctional infrastructure. The completed River Arts District River Transportation Improvement Plan along Lyman Street and Riverside Drive was able to address multiple needs with one coordinated effort. The project successfully relieved traffic congestion in the River Arts District while also adding bicycle lanes, providing opportunities for public art, creating wildlife habitat, and improving stormwater management. This type of broad thinking can and should be applied to water infrastructure and the other utility systems that support us.Though sometimes challenging, it has been exciting to watch Asheville strive to be an equitable, sustainable, livable city. I am pleased to see the City Council’s recent commitment to create a committee to review the city’s response to this crisis and overall state of water infrastructure. It is clear that Asheville needs to communicate more effectively with the public. Being more thoughtful and transparent about the current state of our infrastructure is a great first step. Let’s make sure it is just the beginning.
Simon Betsalel is an Asheville native who currently manages infrastructure projects for the Port of San Francisco. He has a degree in civil engineering from NC State University and a master's in urban planning from the Pratt Institute.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville Christmas water crisis is a call for innovation
