Sun, May 11, 2008 (2:06 a.m.)

Federal officials say it will take billions to fix the nation’s aging public sewer systems, which in some areas dump human waste into rivers and streams in spite of violations and fines issued against sewer authorities by the Environmental Protection Agency.

A Gannett News Service analysis of EPA data dating to 2003 says sewage overflows and spills have sickened people, threatened the safety of local drinking water supplies and killed aquatic plants and animals. About 5,500 people are sickened annually from exposure to sewage overflows near beaches alone, the EPA says.

One of the main problems is that municipal sewer systems in some of the nation’s urbanized areas are more than 100 years old, EPA and state and local sewer authorities said. Gannett’s analysis shows that about a third of the large public sewer systems have been faced with federal or state enforcement actions that have included fines or orders to expand capacity and make repairs.

EPA officials say about 1.2 million miles of the nation’s underground sewer lines are in need of repair or updates — work federal officials estimate will cost $331 billion to $450 billion. But the federal government has budgeted only $687 million for sewage system work this year. The rest will have to be covered by state and local entities, which say their only choice is to raise sewer service rates. But the scope of improvements that are needed is so vast that even rate increases cannot cover the costs, sewer officials say.

The Gannett analysis showed no EPA enforcement actions against Southern Nevada’s four largest publicly owned sewer systems, which operate in the Las Vegas Valley and include Henderson and Laughlin. However, those systems are not 100 years old. Proper planning and budgeting still is necessary to adequately maintain and update even such newer systems.

One of the basic foundations of a civilized nation is a clean public water supply. And it appears America’s method of maintaining its sewage systems is in need of a major overhaul, starting with how municipalities pay for such work.