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The next 25 years: Determining the Capital Needs of North Carolina's Public Utilities In coming years, North Carolinians will be called upon to make unpremdented decisions about water resources. 7o help guide these decisions, the Rural Gconomic llevelopment C:enter in 20041aunched the multifaceted Water 20301nitiative. One of the initiative's core missions was to create a detailed analysis of the state of water, sewer and stormwater systems statewide. The analysis includes information about e~sting infrastructure and fiscal mndition, plus projections of needed inveshnents through the yeaz 2030. '1'his report summarizes those Eindings. Setting the stage Water 2030 is the Rural Center's second major inventory of water-related infrastructure. [n 199H, the center concluded a three-year project that created a database and mapping system for all community water and sewer systems in 78 of the statc's 100 counties.'Che purpose was to answer questions about the condition of water and sewer systems and needed investments as a guide foc planning and public policy development, particulady with regard to infrastructure flnancing.'fhe project obtained information on more than 700 water and sewer systems. 7'his information was then incoTporated into the state database managed by the Center for Geographic Information and Analysis. Analysis of the data, summarized in the report "Clean Water: Our Livelihood, Our Life,,, projected $11.34 Uillion in needed repairs, upgrades and expansions for public water and sewer systems statewide by 2015. A companion study of capita] financing revealed an increasing reliance on loans rather than grants for water and sewer construction, yet 60 percent of North Carolina's ]ocal governments lacked the capacity to borrow money. 'fogether, these findings gave impetus for passage of the ] 99H Clean Water Aonds. Those bonds provided $800 million for water and sewer projects across the state. "I'heie were other significant ouYcomes as well, including: ^ Needs documented by the inidative doubled the estimates then being used by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to apportion federal money going into the State Revolving Loan hunds. 7'hIs data, coupled wlth outreach efforts by state and regional office staff, helped increase subsequent allocaHons to the Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund. ^'Phe survey revealed that a majority of sewet pipes were of vitreous clay that had exceeded its expected lifetime of 40 yeus. As a result, most systems were experi- encing problems with groundwater and stonnwater infiltrnring the sewer lines ' and overtaxing wastewater treatment capacity. 7'his substantiated the need for the state's 1998 SeweT Collection Enforcement Progcam, requiring that eve~y ' system develop a schedule of inspections, maintenance and improvements. ^ The data provided evidence for the need for reb~ionalization and mnsolidation of water systems. Three out of four public water systems in 1998 served fewer than 3,300 customers. Greater efficiencies of scale were needed to mect incceasingly G~ ii