A
Admiral Boom
Guest
anyone see this? every three years ASCE gives us an infastructure report card and here is ours...
2009 Grades
Aviation D
Bridges C
Dams D
Drinking Water D-
Energy D+
Hazardous Waste D
Inland Waterways D-
Levees D-
Public Parks and Recreation C-
Rail C-
Roads D-
Schools D Solid Waste C+
Transit D Wastewater D-
America's Infrastructure GPA: DEstimated 5 Year Investment Need: $2.2 Trillion
http://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/
If america were my kid I would take away their allowance until they brought that up to at least a b avg.
Some disturbing revelations in the doccumentary one state only had 1 fulltime and 1 part time inspectors for thousands of dams...some don't have any. Why are inspections necessary? Because a lrabroad
of the older dams were built on porus foundations like limestone. levys in CA are only inspected by the farmers who rely on them...they are in constant need of repair....were built 100 years ago by farmers, are built on a PEAT MOSS foundations and one earthquake could take them out (one almost did)and ruin 1/2 of Californias drinking water for years. Some sewer systems in IL that filter out brabroad
h waste and rain water in the same pipes regularly back up after as little as an 2 inches of rain because the outdated pipes weren't designed to handle the quantities of waste they now see. The waste/rain water flows directly into the Mississippi. The avg. age of bridges is in the 40's and most were designed w/ 50-75 year lifespans. The program mentioned that (IIRC) China and India spend 9 & 8% of their budgets on infastructure....in the 50's we spent 12% now we spend 2%. I can't find those figures anywhere in writing though.
Incidentally, roads are a constitutionally mandated responsibility.
2009 Grades
Aviation D
Bridges C
Dams D
Drinking Water D-
Energy D+
Hazardous Waste D
Inland Waterways D-
Levees D-
Public Parks and Recreation C-
Rail C-
Roads D-
Schools D Solid Waste C+
Transit D Wastewater D-
America's Infrastructure GPA: DEstimated 5 Year Investment Need: $2.2 Trillion
http://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/
If america were my kid I would take away their allowance until they brought that up to at least a b avg.
Some disturbing revelations in the doccumentary one state only had 1 fulltime and 1 part time inspectors for thousands of dams...some don't have any. Why are inspections necessary? Because a lrabroad
of the older dams were built on porus foundations like limestone. levys in CA are only inspected by the farmers who rely on them...they are in constant need of repair....were built 100 years ago by farmers, are built on a PEAT MOSS foundations and one earthquake could take them out (one almost did)and ruin 1/2 of Californias drinking water for years. Some sewer systems in IL that filter out brabroad
h waste and rain water in the same pipes regularly back up after as little as an 2 inches of rain because the outdated pipes weren't designed to handle the quantities of waste they now see. The waste/rain water flows directly into the Mississippi. The avg. age of bridges is in the 40's and most were designed w/ 50-75 year lifespans. The program mentioned that (IIRC) China and India spend 9 & 8% of their budgets on infastructure....in the 50's we spent 12% now we spend 2%. I can't find those figures anywhere in writing though.
Incidentally, roads are a constitutionally mandated responsibility.