Washington Floods Expose a Double Threat

A month's worth of rain in Washington, D.C., revealed that the capital's storm-water system is vulnerable to severe weather and climate change, leading to flooded streets and basements across the city. The average water main in D.C. is 79 years old. "We're still approaching this 21st-century problem with 20th-century infrastructure, and it's completely inadequate," said Constantine Samaras, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. "And it's only going to get worse." Updating that infrastructure will be enormously expensive, experts warn, not just in Washington but around the country, because not only are the upgrades required but cities also face huge backlogs in general maintenance. Municipal storm-water agencies throughout the country are facing an annual shortfall of $7.5 billion in funding required to meet their obligations under local, state, and federal law, according to an analysis in May by the Water Environment Federation.

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