Due to COVID-19 lockdown measures in India, factories are closed. Prior to the lockdown, plants dumped waste into the river. Now that they are shut, the Yamuna River and other rivers in India are clean again, with fish, turtles, and birds. Let’s hope Indians grow to appreciate the clean water and beauty of the river sufficiently enough to protect it from future damage.
Category: Water
ASCE Infrastructure Report Card for America: D+
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Infrastructure Report Card is published every four years. The most recent Infrastructure Report Card was released in 2017. It gave America’s infrastructure a grade of D+.
The report card highlighted the urgent need for infrastructure improvement for aviation, bridges, dams, drinking water, schools, solid waste, transit, and wastewater.
Dams and levees received a D grade. Dams create reservoirs for water supply and protect local communities from floods. They also provide renewable energy. Levees reduce the risk from devastating flooding events. However, nearly 17% of America’s dams are considered high hazard potential; the dams failure would likely cause a loss of life and significant economic losses.