President Biden
has been negotiating with Republicans
over a giant bill to fix America's aging infrastructure.
And the two sides are having trouble coming to an agreement,
mostly because Biden wants to pay for the bill
by raising taxes on corporations and the superrich
and Republicans want to pay for it
by selling tickets
to Trump's surprise reinauguration in August.
And hopefully, they can figure things out soon,
because there's one particular part
of America's infrastructure that's truly garbage right now,
and I'm talking about America's water system.
The question is why is it that bad?
Well, let's find out in another edition
of If You Don't Know, Now You Know.
? ?
Water: it's Mike Pence's favorite soup.
Water is one of the essentials for human survival
along with food, air
and the new Olivia Rodrigo album, which...
Just, guys, she gets me, you know? She just...
But as important as it is, in America, the infrastructure
that transports the water is breaking down
faster than me listening to the Olivia Rodrigo album.
(crying)
It's an issue that's tough to see, literally.
Water problems.
Often, they go unnoticed until it's too late,
but it's a problem that's getting worse across the country
with aging infrastructure.
NEWSWOMAN: The nation's water infrastructure system
gets a grade of "D"
by the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Thousands of dams and levees are on the brink of failure.
Our water infrastructure all over the country
is literally hitting a breaking point everywhere.
The last time there was a major rehaul
of water infrastructure creating these new pipes and systems
was about 1945.
The sewer and water systems we're living off of,
systems that were actually some of them built
in the 19th century.
NEWSWOMAN: In at least 545 municipalities
across the country, there are cast iron pipes
that are now more than 100 years old.
The aging infrastructure has led to a point
where a water main breaks somewhere in this country
every two minutes.
Goddamn, people,
a pipe is bursting every two minutes?
If America were a person, it would have to wear Depends.
America's water pipes are so bad
that they got a "D" from the infrastructure experts.
And, keep in mind,
a pipe that gets an "F" is just a puddle of water.
And it's not surprising that these pipes are falling apart,
because some of them have been around since the 19th century.
So, not only are they failing
but they're also probably a little racist.
I mean, I guess, on the bright side though,
this is definitely keeping America's enemies from invading.
You know? North Korea's probably looking at America like,
"The layout is nice, but the plumbing is a disaster.
"I mean, it's-it's just not worth the gut renovation.
I don't know, guys."
And, look, people, unless you live in Mario World,
you probably don't spend a lot of your time thinking
about pipes.
But you should.
Because when the pipes that carry America's water
become old and busted,
the effects can be pretty drastic.
Our aging water infrastructure systems are making clean,
safe drinking water unreliable in many parts of this country.
NEWSMAN: The National Resources Defense Council estimates
30 million Americans drink community water
that contains lead,
and 5.5 million get water
that exceeds the EPA's maximum levels.
NEWSMAN 2: Go east, and, in places like North Carolina,
water has been contaminated by coal ash.
Go west-- it's nitrates from fertilizers.
WOMAN: So, we have blue water here.
MAN: We've let our water system just dilapidate
to the point of collapse.
It's like a third world country here.
WOMAN 2: Our waste water systems are crumbling.
People are living with sewage water
and sewage in their streets, in their backyards.
NEWSMAN 3: The city of Fort Lauderdale rushing to clean up
more than 200 million gallons of toxic sewage
flooding the streets,
seeping into houses
and spilling into waterways.
NEWSMAN 4: Rivers of raw sewage flowing down streets in Ventnor.
-It's really gross. -It stinks real bad.
I can't move my car. I'm not putting my car in there.
That is a (bleep) lake if I ever saw one.
(chuckles) Wow.
That poor guy.
What a bad deal to live next to a shit lake.
If I was him, I would try and sell that house ASAP.
"That's right. I'm selling some lakefront property."
"Oh, cool. What lake?"
"Man, it's a lake. Do you want it or not?"
And shit lakes aside,
did you see that gross blue water?
I mean, I don't care where you live.
Taking a bath should never turn into a surprise gender reveal.
And, by the way, can America please stop comparing
all of its failures to the third world?
Because every time there's an infrastructure problem
or an insurrection, Americans are like,
"This is just like a third world country.
This is a third world country."
No, guys, it's not cool.
All right? 'Cause you don't hear Africans
comparing their school shootings to America.
They don't do that. You know why?
Because Africa doesn't have school shootings.
Yeah. All our children are soldiers.
So how did America's water system
end up this way in the first place?
Well, basically, a lot of people in the past decided that,
rather than fixing a bunch of little problems back then,
it would be easier to wait for them to become big problems
and then leave them to us.
Infrastructure's not particularly sexy.
You know? It's something that seems easy to be-- to kick
from one year to the next, and, suddenly, you look up,
and it's been 30 years.
NEWSMAN: According to the American Society
of Civil Engineers, the federal government's capital spending
on water infrastructure has dropped
from 63% in 1977
to nine percent in 2017.
NEWSWOMAN: Repairing, improving,
maintaining the nation's water systems requires big money.
The American Water Works Association estimates
it will take a trillion dollars for drinking water alone.
NEWSWOMAN 2: As costs to fix the systems continue to rise,
investment in water infrastructure
has increasingly fallen to state and local governments
over the past few decades.
NEWSWOMAN 3: The problem is that cities are burdened by debt
and don't have the money to fix pipes.
NEWSWOMAN 4: Milwaukee has a program to split the cost
of replacing lead pipes with homeowners,
but, so far, only one percent has been done.
The city is trying to replace 70,000 lead laterals.
And at a pace at about a thousand a year,
it would take 70 years.
Uh, you've got to be kidding me.
70 years?
In 70 years, we won't even need pipes.
We'll probably just absorb water through NFTs or something.
Yeah, I don't actually understand what they are,
because, I don't know, like, what do you mean
I don't own the art?
The only other time you hear
something's gonna take 70 years to fix
is when you're on the phone with your cable company.
"Yeah, we can get a guy to come check out your router in 2091.
Does any time between 11:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. work for you?"
"What? I'll be dead by then!"
"Do you want the appointment or not, sir?"
"Okay, I'll take it."
And, you know, as crazy as this is,
I actually get why politicians
never want to spend money on pipes.
Because it's expensive and it's boring.
I mean, think about it.
If you open a new stadium,
you get to hold a press conference there,
you know, with a big ribbon cutting.
It's flashy.
But how are you supposed to celebrate a new sewage pipe?
Huh? What, you invite the press to watch you take a huge dump
at city hall?
That's actually not a bad idea.
But the reason this has gotten so bad
and so expensive is because they waited so long to fix it.
You see, people, you have to address problems
when they come up, or they just get worse.
And that goes for everything.
Infrastructure.
Relationships.
Hell, even this mole
that I probably should have gotten checked out
before it grew into its own person.
"Oh, it's fine, buddy. You can probably put it off
for another ten years."
You know what, you're right, mole.
I love this guy.
And while the water situation is pretty poor
across the entire United States,
there's one group of people in the U.S.
who are getting the shortest, dirtiest,
most lead-covered end of the stick.
And you can probably guess who it is, right?
Who?
There is a-a close correlation,
uh, between race and economics
and whether or not you have clean water
in the United States of America.
NEWSWOMAN: Newark is a largely poor, mostly Black
and Hispanic city, and its lead levels
are among the highest in the U.S.
for large water systems.
Some houses here tested four times the federal limit.
Much of Mississippi's largest city
is beginning its fourth week without safe drinking water
coming out of faucets.
Jackson residents, about 80% of whom are Black,
remain under a systemwide order to boil water.
NEWSMAN: For the past eight years,
Keystone, West Virginia,
has been under a boil water advisory.
Eight years. It's so common,
it doesn't even make headlines anymore.
You can run the water sometime,
and it's br-- as brown as I am.
Good Lord.
"The water is as brown as I am"?
When people were asking for more Black representation,
they weren't talking about the water supply. I know that.
And this is extremely messed up that so many Black people
in America don't have access to clean drinking water.
I mean, I know reparations might not happen anytime soon,
but maybe America can start with a Brita filter.
I will say though, it's impressive how,
even with this shitty water supply,
Black still don't crack.
Can you imagine how good Black people would look
with proper hydration?
Ooh-wee.
So, there you have it.
America's water systems are on the verge of collapse,
and the country needs to start fixing them now.
This isn't a problem that can be kicked
down the road anymore, people.
Especially when that road is buried six feet under Shit Lake.
And if you don't know, now you know.