Infrastructure investments are key to avoid crisis

Last Sunday kicked off Engineers Week 2021, an annual event that highlights the role engineers and the engineering profession play in our daily lives. It was engineers who improved our water supply by reversing the flow of the Chicago River in the 19th Century and it's engineers at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District who ensure the water our region relies on is clean and safe today.

Ask engineers and they'll tell you that one of the most pressing challenges we face is our region's outdated infrastructure. From roads and bridges to the water delivery systems that we focus on at the MWRD, we have often failed to provide adequate funding to keep this infrastructure strong.

Largely due to years of inadequate government funding, our region's water infrastructure is struggling. Our water mains are aged and brittle, while many of the sewers in our region are more than a century old and were simply not designed to handle 21st Century storm events.

As a result of this lack of investment, sewers back up and flood homes and businesses, while water mains break and threaten our drinking water. Understandably, most people don't think about our water infrastructure until water shows up somewhere it isn't supposed to or stops showing up at all.

Every year we wait to tackle this problem, our situation becomes more dangerous and more costly to address. Without adequate investment we could be heading for a clean water crisis faster than we realize.

Fortunately, there is new leadership in the White House and a fresh approach to handling this challenge. President Biden campaigned heavily on the need for a national investment in infrastructure, particularly the infrastructure that will bring us forward into the clean energy economy. The president has specifically committed to providing clean, safe drinking water in all communities and recognizes that this starts with a significant investment in water delivery and treatment infrastructure.

At the MWRD, we're doing what we can by providing millions in grant money for municipalities across Cook County to invest in their green infrastructure. But we need to be consistently making these investments at the state and federal levels as well. We have the foresight to invest in our infrastructure and cannot wait until we reach a crisis point before taking action.

We need leaders in the public and private sectors and across the political spectrum to come to the table and build long-term sustainable investment plans. That's why, later this month I am chairing a gathering of more than 40 water experts from across the world who will discuss these challenges at the third International Water and Waste Management Conference and Expo (WaterAndWasteManagement.org). Normally held in India, this year's conference is taking place virtually, allowing anyone from across the globe to easily participate and share their insights.

Infrastructure is the backbone that propels our state and economy forward. Our state's future depends on these investments being made and being made now.

• Mariyana Spyropoulos, a Chicago Democrat, is a member of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Board of Commissioners.