Eventually the piper must be paid. For municipal governments, balancing the budget is a constant concern and one that is becoming more difficult reduced revenues have force many to cut funding for some core services. In Washington however, balanced budgets are not a concern, nor it seems is the staggering deficit that comes with massive spending programs that are unsupported by revenues.

As water and wastewater infrastructure ages and deteriorates, the cost of replacing it all becomes a growing concern. Replacement costs can be astronomical and, and it doesn’t help that many utilities have not planned for the inevitable expenditures for replacement. When providers cannot postpone replacement of this infrastructure, the high costs come as a shock to previously oblivious rate-paying customers. The resulting conflict between providers and ratepayers can be enough to cause gnashing of teeth for even large, well-heeled utilities. Unfortunately, the problem can occasionally be insurmountable for small water systems.