The Monday following the main break on 6th and South Streets, the Water Department did not have an estimate on properties damaged, the cost or timeline of repairs. Interviewing impacted residents WHYY reporters did gather that the damages done were mostly to things of sentimental value. The troubling issue that has been uncovered is that Philadelphia has 771 water main breaks per year, on average. Not only is this troubling for the city's residents, it also tells us that there is even more maintenance to be done to the city's infrastructure than is thought to be needed. This year, Philadelphia has had 439 breaks thus far. Between 2012-2018, cast-iron pipe breakage rate has increased by 43%, according to a study by Utah State University. Why is this important? It is important because a chunk of pipes in Philadelphia are cast iron and, together with being over 100 years old, they are likely due to break. Patching up breaks may work for a while but it is clearly evident that Philadelphia needs new pipe systems and the Water Department needs to make it happen as soon as possible. Perhaps, now that they plan to increase usage rates by 17%, they may well have the funding to take on such huge projects as that of replacing century-old pipes. For the moment, however, the only certainty Philadelphia residents have is that their water mains may break at any moment in time and that, as a result, they may face property damage as well as temporary water loss. While some of the people interviewed said they've witnessed similar or worse in their life and, as such, they keep a positive mindset, it does bring forth Seeman (2019)'s discussion of one's interdependence with infrastructures and, thus, with one's ability to generate resilience.
Avi Wolfman-Arent, "‘Like an asteroid struck’: Bella Vista residents survey damage after massive water main break", contributed by Briana Leone and Alison Kenner, The Energy Rights Project, Platform for Experimental Collaborative Ethnography, last modified 12 August 2021, accessed 26 April 2024. https://energyrights.info/content/‘-asteroid-struck’-bella-vista-residents-survey-damage-after-massive-water-main-break
Critical Commentary
The Monday following the main break on 6th and South Streets, the Water Department did not have an estimate on properties damaged, the cost or timeline of repairs. Interviewing impacted residents WHYY reporters did gather that the damages done were mostly to things of sentimental value. The troubling issue that has been uncovered is that Philadelphia has 771 water main breaks per year, on average. Not only is this troubling for the city's residents, it also tells us that there is even more maintenance to be done to the city's infrastructure than is thought to be needed. This year, Philadelphia has had 439 breaks thus far. Between 2012-2018, cast-iron pipe breakage rate has increased by 43%, according to a study by Utah State University. Why is this important? It is important because a chunk of pipes in Philadelphia are cast iron and, together with being over 100 years old, they are likely due to break. Patching up breaks may work for a while but it is clearly evident that Philadelphia needs new pipe systems and the Water Department needs to make it happen as soon as possible. Perhaps, now that they plan to increase usage rates by 17%, they may well have the funding to take on such huge projects as that of replacing century-old pipes. For the moment, however, the only certainty Philadelphia residents have is that their water mains may break at any moment in time and that, as a result, they may face property damage as well as temporary water loss. While some of the people interviewed said they've witnessed similar or worse in their life and, as such, they keep a positive mindset, it does bring forth Seeman (2019)'s discussion of one's interdependence with infrastructures and, thus, with one's ability to generate resilience.