Valve From 1888 Finally Exits Colorado System

Shining a spotlight on the age of the nation’s water infrastructure, Colorado Springs Utilities removed the second-oldest valve in its system this month. It was 129 years old, installed in 1888.

The cast-iron valve was “still working when utility workers used it for last month’s water main replacement project on Cascade Avenue in downtown Colorado Springs,” The Denver Post reported.

“According to officials, the valve removal signifies an effort to renew aging water mains across the city to improve customer service,” the report said.

“In 2017 alone, Springs Utilities will renew about 37 miles of water main pipe across the community,” KKTV reported.

This was hardly the only aging valve in the city’s water system. There are about 90 more close to that age, the report said. The piece will now go on display at the utility.

“I don’t think there was any expectations for this to last as long as it has,” said Michael Lovato, an engineer with Colorado Springs Utilities, per KKTV.

Also placed in 1888, the city’s first valve is still in operation.

The water utility used the opportunity to inform ratepayers about how innovative its water system has been from the start, per a press release:

In addition to modernizing the way drinking water was delivered to customers, water planners’ trail blazed a path to the development of our initial local mountain water collection systems in the 1890s and the eventual construction of one of the earliest transmountain collection systems in the nation — The Blue River System — in the 1950s.

Aging water infrastructure is a pressing issue in cities and towns across the country. The U.S. received an overall grade of “D+” on the infrastructure report card issued by the American Society of Civil Engineers this year. Wastewater and drinking water infrastructure scored a “D+” and a “D,” respectively.

The crisis is getting worse each year. In 1988, the nation earned a “C” and a “B-” for wastewater and tap water, respectively.