All Things Water
America's water infrastructure is in dangerous shape. The American Society of Civil Engineers has twice graded water infrastructure a "D-" in its annual infrastructure report card. But change is taking place. Municipalities across the country are investing in their water infrastructure because they know the physical and economic well being of their communities depends on people's access to safe, clean drinking water.
For more than 150 years, the companies that make up Mueller Water Products have provided products and services that deliver safe, clean drinking water to people across the United States and Canada. We are a water infrastructure company that designs and manufactures long-lasting, low-maintenance, smart solutions for communities and contractors who recognize that an investment in quality today is the most cost-effective way to keep safe water flowing for many tomorrows.
Water Infrastructure
- Water leakage rates are as high as 20%-40%.
- Systems are servicing two to three times more people than originally intended.(1)
- By 2020, 45% of all pipes in the U.S. will be classified as poor, very poor or elapsed.(2)
- Water infrastructure has twice been graded a "D-" by the American Society of Civil Engineers infrastructure report card.
Cost of Water
- 29% of water systems charge less than cost
- On average, municipal water cost is less than one cent per gallon. You can fill up an 8 oz. glass with filtered water 15,000 times, and it wil still cost you less than purchasing a 12-pack of bottled water.
- Drinking the recommended daily amount of water using bottled water can cost an average of $1,400 per year; drinking the same amount from the tap costs around 49 cents for the year. (Source: The New York Times)
- The average water bill is $474 per year. The average American family spends $500 each year on bottled water.
Production and Energy
- Making bottles to meet Americans' demand for bottled water requires more than 17 million barrels of oil annually, enough to fuel some 100,000 cars for a year. To put it another way, the entire energy costs of the lifecyle of a bottle of water is equivalent, on average, to filling up a quarter of each bottle with oil. (Source: The Pacific Institute)
- Producing the bottles for American consumption required the equivalent of more than 17 million barrels of oil, not including the energy for transportation.
- Bottled water companies, water-to-production ratios are roughly 3:1; for every 3 litres of freshwater that the bottled water industry takes from the earth, only 1 litre of bottled water is actually produced. (Source Project Earth H20)