The Bay Area loses about 23 billion gallons of water a year because of old, leaky water pipes. That’s enough to supply more than 70,000 families for a year. It’s an enormous waste in a time of drought, and the aging infrastructure is vulnerable to natural disaster. After this week’s earthquake, water main breaks left hundreds without water for days. What would happen in a bigger quake? We check in with water experts about the Bay Area’s aging infrastructure and what’s being done to fix it.
Bay Area's Old, Leaky Pipes Waste Billions of Gallons of Water
(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Guests:
Lisa Krieger, science writer for the San Jose Mercury News
Xavier Irias, director of engineering and construction for the East Bay Municipal Utility District
Heather Cooley, water program director at the Pacific Institute, a water policy think tank
Steven Ritchie, assistant general manager for water at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
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