Infrastructure in dire need of repair, replacement

Say the word "infrastructure," and McCook residents should know what you're talking about.

They're struggling to remember the best route from one side of town to the other, now that H Street is under major renovation from Norris all the way to Airport Road.

Wisely, the city plans to replace water mains, where needed, in the process of pouring new concrete paving along the way.

It's only the tip of the iceberg, infrastructure-wise, and anyone who pays a water bill knows that.

Struggling to deal with groundwater contaminated with nitrates and other agricultural chemicals, McCook discovered soil contamination created when a former electronics plant dumped solvent out on the ground rather than disposing of it responsibly.

There were expensive dead-ends along the way -- the purchase and sale of the old air base at a loss of $1 million comes to mind -- but the drinking water problem was finally "solved" to the tune of a $14 million state-of-the-art water treatment plant and water bills quadruple or more what they were before the whole fiasco started.

But the problems don't stop there.

Many homeowners are finding that their copper pipes are eroding to the point of needing to be replaced, and much of the water and sewer system is at or beyond its expected life.

McCook isn't alone, and the county and state are on the hook as well.

According to the 2013 Report Card on America's Infrastucture by the American Society of Civil Engineers, Nebraska has a reported $1.8 billion in drinking water infrastructure needs over the next 20 years, and a reported $3.2 billion in wastewater infrastructure over the same time.

More than 18 percent of Nebraska's bridges are considered structurally deficient, and nearly 7 percent are considered functionally obsolete.

The Red Willow Dam isn't alone in needing repairs; Nebraska has 126 high-hazard dams.

Nebraska has 93,633 miles of public roads, 59 percent of which are in poor or mediocre condition, according to the ASCE, and which cost Nebraska motorists $380 million a year in extra vehicle repairs and operating costs, or $282 per motorist.

Of course, any report from a group of professionals who make their living by building public infrastructure must be taken with a grain of salt.

It's clear that in McCook, however, like every other community around the nation, replacement and improvement of infrastructure is going to have to be a major focus for planners and the taxpayers and utility customers who pay those costs.