DIPRA Urges President, Congress to Ensure Funding for Potable, Wastewater Systems
In advance of President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, Patrick Hogan, president of the Ductile Iron Pipe Research Association (DIPRA) voiced his support for the President’s expected infrastructure package, urging him and the Congress to ensure funding for potable and waste water systems.
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“Updating drinking and sewer water infrastructure is a critical step to improve the health and security of local communities. That’s why I’m glad to see the White House focus on water infrastructure in its Infrastructure Incentives Initiative,” Hogan said. “Federal funding is important to many local communities; however, local policymakers and local engineers must retain control over water system design and materials that are best for their community.”
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There are more than 1 million miles of buried water main lines running underneath U.S. towns and cities. In many communities, reliable cast iron pipes have safely and reliably served homes and businesses for more than 100 years. But as with anything, as time passes water pipes eventually become in need of repair and replacement. As municipal leaders make decisions on investing in infrastructure projects, access to federal funding will help stretch local tax dollars.
The members of DIPRA have been making pipe for U.S. water projects for more than a century, and during that period, materials have evolved from cast iron to modern ductile iron. Ductile is the most reliable and cost-effective material over time. New ductile piping installed is made to last at least 100 years — longer than any other product on the market.
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DIPRA believes it is important that local officials are continued to be allowed to make decisions on how to invest in local infrastructure projects. In states across the country, and now in the U.S. Congress, special interest groups are trying to usurp the ability of engineers and water professionals through legislative tactics that would upend how local governments make their water infrastructure decisions.
“All pipes are not created equally, and research shows that pipes manufactured from ductile iron are more resilient and longer lasting than other kind of pipes. A national infrastructure bill will be a hard lift for Congress, but it’s work worth doing,â Hogan said. âAccess to clean drinking water should be a national priority, and we need Congress to work with the White House to make investments in this infrastructure a reality. And just as importantly, local officials and engineers must be empowered to select the pipe material that would work best in their communities for the next century.”
SOURCE: Ductile Iron Pipe Research Association
