U.S. Infrastructure Gets a D+

Wastewater infrastructure improved slightly in 2012, but still got a D grade from the American Society of Civil Engineers. Capital investment needs for the nation's wastewater and stormwater systems over the next 20 years is $298 billion. Pipes represent three quarters of those needs.

Once every four years, U.S. civil engineers produce a comprehensive assessment of the nation's major infrastructure categories. In 2009, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) gave U.S. infrastructure a cumulative D grade. The ASCE's "2013 Report Card for America's Infrastructure", released March 19, 2013, gives U.S. infrastructure a D+ grade overall, a report card that if taken home to Mom and Dad would land any child in a heap of trouble, but is actually the best score in 15 years, tying the D+ ASCE gave out in 2001.

According to the ASCE's Executive Summary, the grades in 2013 "ranged from a high of B- for solid waste to a low of D- for inland waterways and levees. Solid waste, drinking water, wastewater, roads, and bridges all saw incremental improvements, and rail jumped from a C- to a C+. No categories saw a decline in grade this year."

Some category highlights, or lowlights, and their grades:

Dams: D The average age of our 84,000 dams is 52; 14,000 are high-hazard dams. The Association of State Dam Safety Officials estimates the repair bill: $21 billion.

Bridges: C+ There are over 200,000,000 trips taken daily across deficient bridges in the nation's 102 largest metropolitan regions! One in nine U.S. bridges are rated "structurally deficient." The average age of the nation's 607,380 bridges is 42 years. The Federal Highway Administration estimates the costs to repair the bridge repair backlog by 2028 at $20.5 billion annually, well short of the $12.8 billion currently being spent.

Hazardous Waste: D ASCE notes "undeniable success in the cleanup of the nation's hazardous waste and brownfields sites," but annual Superfund site cleanup funding is short $500 million and 1,280 sites remain on the national priorities list. More than 400,000 brownfields await cleanup and redevelopment. EPA estimates a quarter of Americans live within three miles of a hazardous waste site.

Levees: D The cost to repair or rehabilitate the 100,000 miles of U.S. levees is roughly $100 billion, estimates the National Committee on Levee Safety. Levees helped prevent more than $141 billion in flood damages in 2011.

Inland Waterways: D- U.S. inland waterways carry the equivalent of about 51 million truck trips each year. Many inland waterways have not been updated since the 1950s, and more than half of the locks are over 50 years old. There is an average of 52 service interruptions a day throughout the system.

Roads: D Forty-two percent of major U.S. urban highways remain congested, costing the economy an estimated $101 billion in wasted time and fuel annually. The Federal Highway Administration estimates $170 billion in capital investment annually is needed to significantly improve conditions.

Public Parks & Rec: C- Parks and rec activities contribute $646 billion to the nation's economy and support 6.1 million jobs, yet there were $18.5 billion in unmet needs in 2011. The National Park Service estimates its maintenance backlog at approximately $11 billion.