3. Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT)
• National Non-Profit
• Areas of Focus:
• Transportation, Energy,
Climate Change & Water
• Working with Communities
on Urban Sustainability:
• Data & Research
• Tools & Transparency
• Collaboration
• Policy Advocacy
13. • 48 most populous cities in the
Great Lakes region
• 30 responded: 63%
• They serve 23% of the total
population of the Great Lakes
states and province
Survey Sample: Urban Flooding
14. • 100% receive complaints
• 87% characterize them as
‘medium’ to ‘large’
• Half have no plans for
tackling it
• Two-thirds have no targets
• 80% do not track the costs
of flood damage
Findings: Urban Flooding
15. • 80 water supply utilities
• 10 largest in each Great
Lakes state
• 68% response rate
• 500 municipalities
• 9.8 million people
• Over 63,000 miles of
pipe
Survey Sample: Water Loss
16. • Pipes average 50 years old
• Leak an estimated 66.5
billion gallons of water
each year
• Could supply water to
2.2 million Americans
for a year
• 71% have no policy
• 51% have no goal
• 67% do not publicly report
Findings: Water Loss
17. • Residents in communities are directly affected
• Leadership faces real obstacles
• They want help
In Summary
25. We need Solutions
•Improved mapping of flood risks
•Retrofit programs and development standards to protect your property
•Federally backed insurance &
•mitigations funding
29. Your money is going down the drain!
Fixing the Leaks – A Good Idea
• Create Jobs
• Drive Economic Development
• Protect Human Health
• Reduce Energy Use
• Preserve Water Resources
The issues: We picked two specific issues - urban flooding and water-loss - because they resonate with the public, and tell a broader story about need for water infrastructure investment.
Urban flooding – for the purposes of this survey, refers to.
more routine flooding the comes from too much rain falling on too much impervious surfaces: soggy basements, streets and backyards.
Water-loss, refers specifically to leaks within water supply infrastructure.
Urban flooding (cover of GL urban flooding report)
48 most populous cities in the Great Lakes region
30 responded: 63%.
They serve 23% of the total population of the Great Lakes states and province
Overall findings
So what does our research tell us:
Residents in communities are directly affected. Urban flooding and water-loss are substantial challenges that directly affect the public. It’s not something we can leave for the professionals alone to worry about
Leadership faces real obstacles: Without common standards and targets, and dedicated budgets, water professionals lack the tools they need to fix the problems.
They’re looking for help: 60%+ want to collaborate to improve best practice.