Seventy-five percent of all utilities have corrosive soil conditions and combined with a high portion of Cast Iron and Ductile Iron pipes, one in four main breaks is caused by corrosion which is ranked the second highest reason for water main pipe failure, according to a study by Utah State University Buried Structures Laboratory, “Water Main Break Rates in the USA and Canada”. The study concluded that the water main break experiences of one utility may not represent another. Factors such as climate, installation practices and soil corrosivity can greatly affect failure rates. Every utility should properly install pipe, regardless of material used.
Unnecessary duplication among federal programs costs taxpayers billions of dollars a year, according to the Government Accountability Office’s 2012 Annual Report: Opportunities to Reduce Duplication, Overlap and Fragmentation, Achieve Savings, and Enhance Revenue. The document, requested by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), is a follow-up to a similar report issued almost a year ago by GAO.
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