Water infrastructure bills attract support

Two water infrastructure bills that have made progress in the United States Senate could provide a $17 billion boost to the filtering and transmission of drinking water and wastewater in the U.S.

According to a Bloomberg Law online article, the America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2020 focuses mostly on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects and policy and would authorize up to $17 billion in projects pertaining to water storage and reducing flood risks.

The America’s Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2020 and Drinking Water Infrastructure Act of 2020 could provide up to $5 billion in funding to help communities fix, repair and update drinking water infrastructure and update wastewater systems. That is according to a press release from the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based Healing Our Waters -Great Lakes Coalition.

Wastewater or sewer pipes can be made from a variety of materials, including concrete, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic, and either cast iron or galvanized iron.

Drinking water is most commonly piped in ductile iron. According to Birmingham, Alabama-based McWane Ductile, “Ductile iron pipe consists of 93 percent to 98 percent recycled iron and steel.”

The company’s web page describing its scrap-intensive production process includes a video clip and accompanying text about the company’s consumption of iron and steel scrap.

“Today’s ductile iron pipe has greater strength than any of the cast iron products that were previously made and are currently being recycled,” states the firm on its website, adding, “Ductile iron pipe from McWane Ductile has the highest level of recycled content of any piping material.”

In addition to its foundry in Birmingham, McWane operates foundries in Phillipsburg, New Jersey; Coshocton, Ohio; Provo, Utah; and Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.