Expertise: Environmental containment systems and geomembrane liner installation for wastewater infrastructure Plastic Fusion Fabricators (PFF) specializes in the fabrication and installation of thermoplastic containment systems for wastewater treatment facilities, landfills, industrial operations, and agricultural systems across the U.S. For more than 40 years, we have worked with utilities, municipalities, and industrial operators to help prevent environmental exposure and protect natural resources. From our vantage point working on wastewater infrastructure sites nationwide, several observations stand out: * Aging infrastructure is a common challenge. Much of the nation's wastewater infrastructure was built decades ago using materials (concrete, brick. etc) that are vulnerable to long-term corrosion from wastewater exposure. Many utilities are repairing or upgrading manholes, piping systems, and containment structures with more durable materials such as HDPE. HDPE liner systems can create a corrosion-resistant barrier inside existing infrastructure, helping extend asset life while broader upgrades are planned. * Containment systems play an important role in protecting groundwater. As communities expand and weather patterns shift, wastewater systems and storage infrastructure are often required to manage higher volumes and more variable conditions. Properly installed geomembrane liner systems act as a critical barrier between wastewater storage areas and surrounding soil and groundwater resources. * Many municipalities and industrial operators are proactively investing in containment upgrades. Modern geomembrane liner systems and engineered environmental barriers are increasingly incorporated into wastewater infrastructure improvements to strengthen environmental protection. Expert Perspective "Many wastewater systems were originally designed long before emerging contaminants became a concern, so utilities across the country are adapting infrastructure to address challenges that simply weren't anticipated decades ago. Containment systems are one of the most important safeguards in wastewater infrastructure. As facilities upgrade and modernize, these environmental barriers help protect soil, groundwater, and nearby ecosystems." If this perspective is helpful, we would be happy to provide additional context. Contact: Chantel Minish cminish@plasticfusion.com Plastic Fusion Fabricators
Executive Director at The Center for Emergency Management Intelligence Research
Answered 2 months ago
1) Cyberthreats. "Cyberthreats do not have to occur at a water or wastewater treatment facility in order to adversely affect a community's water supply. There are many points along the supply chain, which can generate a threat and hazards to potable water production." (direct published quote from me, source - https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/mono/10.1201/9781003474685-8/threats-sources-michael-prasad) Industrial control systems and the Industrial Internet of all Things (IIoT) aka Industry 4.0 are susceptible to attack and compromise in any country's wastewater infrastructure, as they were not target-hardened initially, as the systems for nuclear power plants were, for example. (source: https://doi.org/10.3390/w13010081) 2) PFAS and microplastics are also concerns, certainly - as they can also impact groundwater sources (watersheds, wells, cisterns, etc.) in communities, as well. I outline these threats as well in my book for emergency managers - online version is at https://www.vitalsource.com/en-ca/products/emergency-management-threats-and-hazards-michael-prasad-v9781040115862 3) I am pretty sure contamination is possible. I did not research specific cases of this threat, but I believe others have. I reference this academic article in my book: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.snb.2017.09.078. 4) Tons of public health risks - I do not know specifics, someone in public health would be a better expert. I do know that heavy metals, silt disturbance, etc. can be adverse impacts as well as the microorganisms, parasites, etc. While not urban, the Elk River Spill is a good case example: https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.122-A214 5) I do not know specifically, I covered this concern from a global perspective. I did learn that drought can impact major rivers, generating saltwater inundation from sea level being higher than freshwater - and if water/wastewater treatment plants are in those areas - and cannot handle desalination, that can be a challenge. That's in my book, too. 6) I think it will be localized (not the nation as a whole, all at once, like the national electrical grid impacts everyone in the U.S., except Texas) and be blips which do not - in total - reach a national level of concern. It might be 'death by a thousand cuts'. Here's an example from 2021 that I bet no one has done anything to fix: https://www.wesh.com/article/orlando-mayor-to-hold-newser-on-unprecedented-event-requiring-community-assistance/37359831
America's wastewater infrastructure is aging out — and most communities have no idea how close to the edge they are. Much of the nation's sewer and treatment systems were built between the 1940s and 1970s. They were never designed to last this long, and they were certainly never engineered to handle today's contaminant landscape — PFAS "forever chemicals," trace pharmaceuticals, and microplastics that conventional treatment processes simply cannot remove. Upgrading requires advanced oxidation, granular activated carbon, or membrane filtration — capital-intensive solutions most municipalities haven't implemented and many can't afford. The risks aren't hypothetical. Failing sewer lines and cracked interceptors are already leaching nutrients, pathogens, and industrial contaminants into groundwater. In regions with karst geology or sandy soils — parts of Texas, Florida, and the Midwest — contamination migrates fast. Chronic low-level leakage is more common than most communities realize. When systems overflow, the consequences are immediate and inequitable. Combined and sanitary sewer overflows release untreated sewage into waterways and urban streets, exposing communities to E. coli, norovirus, and hepatitis A. The burden falls hardest on lower-income neighborhoods clustered near aging infrastructure corridors. The 10-year outlook without serious reinvestment? More boil-water advisories. More nutrient loading in rivers and coastal zones. Higher healthcare and remediation costs passed down to the most vulnerable. This isn't just an engineering problem — it's a public health crisis in slow motion. The path forward demands data-driven asset management, public-private collaboration, and policy frameworks that treat wastewater modernization as essential infrastructure — not optional maintenance. Proactive investment today is far less expensive, financially and socially, than deferred accountability tomorrow.
(1) I don't work directly in municipal wastewater engineering, but from a public health and operations lens the biggest infrastructure stressors I see discussed by utility partners are: deferred maintenance of aging pipes and pump stations, combined sewer overflows in older cities, inflow and infiltration that overloads plants during storms, power resilience gaps, and workforce constraints that slow preventative maintenance and asset management. (2) Yes. Conventional wastewater treatment was designed around nutrients, solids, and pathogens, not trace organics. PFAS and many pharmaceuticals tend to require advanced processes (for example granular activated carbon, ion exchange, or high-pressure membranes, plus careful residuals handling). Microplastics are hard because they fragment and can pass through; better capture often depends on optimized filtration and solids management, not just "more treatment." (3) Yes. Leaky sewers and failing septic systems can introduce pathogens and nutrients into shallow groundwater; risk is highest where pipes sit in high groundwater, in karst geology, or where drinking-water wells are shallow and close to failing infrastructure. How common it is varies widely by locality, but the mechanism is well established and is why sanitary surveys, leak detection, and wellhead protection matter. (4) The near-term risks are exposure to pathogens (gastrointestinal illness), skin and eye infections, and in some contexts vector issues and mold after backups. In dense areas, the concern is rapid exposure of many people via flooded streets, basements, and contaminated recreational waters, plus knock-on impacts when hospitals, childcare, and food service are disrupted. (5) Higher risk tends to cluster where there are old combined sewer systems (parts of the Northeast/Midwest), fast-growing metros with capacity constraints, coastal/low-lying communities facing sea-level rise and saltwater intrusion, and regions with intense rainfall swings that exceed design assumptions. (6) If major upgrades don't happen, the most likely outcome is more frequent overflows and chronic water quality degradation after storms, with episodic public health impacts and long-term ecosystem stress (nutrient loading, algal blooms, habitat loss). The compounding factor is climate volatility: systems sized for the past get overwhelmed more often.
The most urgent threat to U.S. wastewater infrastructure is one most people never see: the pipes underground. A substantial portion of municipal sewer systems were installed 50-100 years ago using clay, cast iron, or early concrete — materials now cracking, collapsing, and failing from the inside out. When groundwater seeps into deteriorating lines, it overloads treatment plants and triggers sewage overflows during heavy rain events. The problem compounds when you consider what's in modern wastewater. Traditional treatment was engineered around organic waste and pathogens — not microplastics, pharmaceutical residues, or PFAS. These synthetic compounds pass through aging treatment facilities largely untouched, entering rivers, lakes, and soil on the other side. Groundwater contamination is a real and underappreciated risk. In field work, it's not unusual to find sewer lines that have been leaking silently for years. Near communities relying on shallow aquifers for drinking water, that's a direct contamination pathway. When systems overflow in dense urban areas, raw sewage introduces E. coli, hepatitis A, and other pathogens into waterways and residential properties — with the heaviest exposure falling on vulnerable populations least equipped to respond. The Northeast and Midwest carry the greatest risk. Cities like Detroit, Cleveland, and Philadelphia are running infrastructure built in the late 1800s, often through combined sewer systems that overflow by design in heavy rain. If the U.S. doesn't act within the next decade, the consequences are predictable: more frequent failures, more contamination events, and remediation costs that dwarf what prevention would have required. Deferred infrastructure doesn't get cheaper — it gets more dangerous.
While my work at spectup focuses on capital advisory rather than engineering operations, I spend a fair amount of time speaking with infrastructure investors and environmental technology founders who are building solutions around water systems. One challenge that comes up repeatedly is the age of the physical network itself. Many wastewater pipes, treatment plants, and pumping systems in the U.S. were built decades ago and are now operating beyond their intended lifespan. Deferred maintenance and fragmented funding models often make upgrades slow and politically difficult. From an investment and innovation perspective, emerging contaminants like PFAS, pharmaceuticals, and microplastics are becoming harder for older treatment systems to manage. Most legacy plants were designed to remove nutrients and biological waste, not complex synthetic chemicals. As regulatory pressure increases, utilities are being pushed toward advanced filtration and treatment technologies that require significant capital investment. Aging wastewater infrastructure can indeed pose contamination risks. When pipes crack or treatment systems overflow, untreated or partially treated water can infiltrate nearby soils and potentially reach groundwater. The risk varies widely by region, but in areas with aging sewer systems or combined stormwater networks, the probability increases during heavy rainfall events. Public health concerns become more visible when systems overflow or fail. In densely populated areas, this can lead to the spread of pathogens, contamination of recreational waters, and localized exposure to harmful bacteria. Communities near waterways or flood prone areas tend to face the greatest immediate risk during these events. Looking ahead, the key issue is investment timing. If major upgrades are delayed over the next decade, the most likely consequence is a gradual increase in system failures rather than a single dramatic collapse. That would mean more frequent contamination events, higher long term repair costs, and growing environmental pressure on rivers and coastal ecosystems that depend on reliable wastewater treatment.