Citing "water profligacy as an American way of life," the report cautions: "Most water districts do not charge ratepayers full outlays for constructing and maintaining systems…As a result, businesses and households tend to use water inefficiently and don’t conserve, even though per-capita water demand could outstrip future availability in some parts of the country…We are starting to see the limits of where people can go (to live)." The supply/demand conundrum, it notes, stretches from arid California, Colorado and Arizona to humid Georgia and Florida. The report shows that the U.S. has the highest "water footprint" in the world, using nearly 656,000 gallons per capita annually, greatly outstripping far more populous China, which uses less than 186,000 gallons per capita annually. 

The integration of more concentrated land development into water management can reduce runoff and combat waste, states the report. One example: the runoff from eight homes on eight acres totals 149,600 cubic feet per year, while the runoff from eight homes on one acre totals 39,600 cubic feet per year, with the denser development saving both water and land. "Changing growth patterns in response to dwindling resources will not come easy to a nation that is not accustomed to conserving water or land," said ULI Executive Vice President Maureen McAvey. "But it’s clear that regional and local problems with both water quantity and quality will continue without a broad-based cutback in public water consumption and a change in how and where we build. Water infrastructure must be viewed through the lens of sustainable growth."

"Over the past several years that we have been co-producing this report, perhaps the most troubling conclusion overall is that the world is moving ahead in rebuilding and expanding its infrastructure without the United States. Bottom line, the US is seriously threatening not only its quality of life now and for the future but also its very basic ability to compete economically with the rest of the world," said Howard Roth, Global Real Estate Leader, Ernst and Young.

The promising areas for growth are as follows. First, there are significant business opportunities in the production of express trains. Powerful emerging countries such as China, Brazil and India are enthusiastic about adopting express trains because of their eco-friendliness and lower operational costs compared to other forms of transportation.

Second, nuclear power, with its reputation as a clean, inexpensive and stable supply of electricity, has become an increasingly attractive source of energy. As such, emerging countries are actively constructing nuclear reactors. These countries account for 69 percent of the world’s nuclear reactors slated for construction.

Third, the need for total water treatment solutions has grown substantially. Investments by the BRICs in this sector will amount to $7 trillion over the next two decades. 

Fourth, emerging countries are investing mainly in next-generation mobile telecom businesses, which are more favorable than fixed-line networks in terms of implementation time and costs. They are also quickly opening operations in the private sector. 

Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. reported Tuesday that as many as 106 major water leaks were dumping millions of gallons of water out of the system. The result was a true crisis – schools and government offices were forced to close, businesses were affected, homes were without water or had to boil water. Where there was water, pressure was dangerously low. Adding to the woes, an electrical fire knocked out the H.J. Fewell water treatment plant. So, when it rains, it pours – except when it comes to water right now.  City crews were working diligently to fix the breaks and area cities were pitching in much-appreciated personnel and water to aid the capital city in the crisis.

The water problems do not represent a breakdown in city government responsibility as far as providing basic water service, other than one that has gone on for decades. The last major water crisis in 1989 found then-mayor Kane Ditto dealing with ruptured lines due to an ice storm that knocked out service for thousands.  That crisis resulted in efforts to begin upgrading the system. Ditto inherited the problem of aging infrastructure as did the mayors before him, as has Johnson now. There have been ongoing efforts, but as with most major cities today, the cost of replacing older sewer and water lines can total hundreds of millions of dollars. No water rate hikes via the water billing software can handle such a massive undertaking. It is a slow, ongoing project, which has been under way.

The company still has another $38 million left of its $100 million capital budget that was approved by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities this year. There are upcoming projects in Atlantic, Cape May and Burlington counties that include running new pipelines or replacing older ones.  The BPU fast-tracked projects by the state’s major utilities to stimulate the economy and create jobs in 2009 and 2010. The utilities say they are making improvements that would have needed to be done anyway.

New Jersey Natural Gas’ capital budget was more than $70 million, although CEO Laurence M. Downes said he expects the amount to exceed $100 million next year.  The utility, which serves Ocean County, has been chipping away at 14 different projects, including reinforcement of its natural gas delivery system on Long Beach Island that runs along Hilliard Boulevard from Route 9 to Route 180.

Mays Landing-based Atlantic City Electric is spending nearly $28 million to put in new wires, cables and breakers, among other projects happening in the eight counties it covers in southern New Jersey. Next year, it also will begin the intial investment to design and build a “direct load control” program — a system that will allow residential customers to control costs and manage their energy use during peak hours.

Bernstein said he is confident that new spending will create more jobs in the private sector.  "The private sector US economy will begin generating robust employment at some point in the near future," Bernstein said. "Precisely when that is no one can say. But what we can say is that point is a lot closer because of the Recovery Act."

When asked why President Obama was pushing for more infrastructure spending to create jobs, when the impact of the upcoming year of infrastructure spending has yet take place, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said more spending would compliment those existing stimulus programs that have proved popular and have drawn too many applications.

The problem is that infrastructure is looked at as an unaffordable cost rather than as an investment.  Public works assets and the projects that build them were once a source of pride.