Seth Slabaugh has an article about the cost of fixing an aging water system in Muncie.
Muncie has 368 miles of water lines and some 600 miles of sewer lines, many of which were constructed 75 to 95 years ago, Bennington said.
I only mention it to note the difficulty in budgeting for upkeep of infrastructure. Present needs have a way of shoving aside intentions to set aside money for future needs. When you build something, it’s a certainty that repairs will be needed in the future. It’s almost as certain that routine maintenance will be less expensive in the long run than deferring maintenance until something catastrophic happens. But, it’s hard to say “no” to a present need or to raise taxes just to pay for something preventative on systems that are largely taken for granted. So, public servants who budget for appropriate maintenance in lieu of items that are more immediately popular are probably unsung heroes in some sense.
The point of failing to maintain infrastructure is an all too common concern. It is often a hard sell for a concerned local governmental unit to raise rates in order to repair/renovate older areas, for example, sewer or water lines that are 40 to even 60 years old. Having been involved in one such decision the local increase in sewer rates went over the like the proverbal lead balloon–we were the bad ones for raising rates on low income and older citizens. The aging infrastructure of much of the state whether sewer, water, or roads is a mounting cost that is being put on the back burner and will is a bill yet to be paid and delay simply increases that cost in many respects.