In search of clean water
Colorado alone faces more than $1.4 billion in wastewater-treatment needs. And unfortunately, the state expects to have only $52 million to $68 million available for 2011 in its Water Pollution Control Revolving Loan Fund, which is designed to help with the construction of wastewater-treatment facilities. Growing the fund is something Colorado will be hard-pressed to do as it struggles with the effects of TABOR, a sagging economy, and enormous unmet needs for education, transportation and a variety of other state services.
There appear to be only two realistic options. One is to lower drinking-water standards. Unfortunately, that could increase the risk of a widespread public health crisis, as happened in 1998 in Alamosa, when water was contaminated with two parasites, cryptosporidium and giardia, and 389 people became ill.
Another option, unpopular as it would be, is to increase wastewater fees or other taxes to be able to afford upgrades to water-treatment plants.
Americans pay bargain prices for clean water, less than they pay for cable TV, telephone service or electricity. The cost of clean water nationally averages about a penny per gallon, the lowest rate in the developed world. (Bottled water costs $21 per gallon, while beer is $12 a gallon.) Still, while paying more for clean water may be inevitable, it is not a popular option.
http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_16461626
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