Safe drinking water advocates blast Washington state cities for not providing residents options to purchase water line insurance

Online, June 1, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Seattle, Wash. - The Washington State Access to Safe Drinking Water Council (WSASDWC) has recently published a report which is highly critical of municipalities in Washington State for not providing residents options to purchase water or sewer line insurance. The WSASDWC report gave several communities an "F" for failing to carry any insurance products that would help residents insure their water and sewer lines for breaks or leaks. Specifically in the study, Seattle, Tacoma, Yakima, Spokane, Pasco, Bellevue, Vancouver, Everett, Wenatchee and Kennewick received the worst scores.

The WSASDWC was particularly critical of the City of Kennewick after a local news station aired the following reports which detailed how the Benton County Public Utility District and other municipal entities (i.e...City of Kennewick) would not fix a broken water pipe despite the fact Benton PUD broke the pipe. The residents in Kennewick were left without adequate drinking water supplies for several days.
• http://www.keprtv.com/news/local/91664144.html;
• http://www.keprtv.com/news/91001969.html.

According to data in the study collected from public works departments, about 50,000 property owners a year in Washington state face repair or replacement bills for busted or broken water and/or sewer lines that range from $1,500 to $6,000. Additionally, most water and/or sewer lines were installed between 1900 to 1970 in Washington state and are over 40 years old.

As cities and communities age across Washington State and the United States the probability of leaks from older water pipes and related infrastructure will increase dramatically, which will put additional financial pressure on homeowners to fix and replace water.
• http://environmentalism.suite101.com/article.cfm/fragile-water-infrastructure-in-the-us;
• http://www.buffalonews.com/2009/11/30/877764/aging-water-lines-put-pressure.html.

"If cities in Washington state are not going to repair or take responsibility for water and sewer lines from the street or meter to the residence, then they need to provide residents private sector insurance options so situations like the one in Kennewick do not occur in the future," said Dan Miller, Director of Advocacy of the WSASDWC. "It is inexcusable that so many Washington state cities are not offering insurance or warranty products to help homeowners fix leaks in private water or sewer lines, and to minimize disruptions in access to clean drinking water."