When considering capital projects, governments love parks and libraries. You can see them, people enjoy them, they are tangible amenities that increase the quality of life. People come to their ribbon cuttings, with those openings often heralded and found on the front pages of our local newspapers. They have constituencies who form groups to advocate for them, appropriately called “The Friends of (insert name of park or library.)”

To be sure, I am one of those former government officials who loved those projects. They are very important for quality of life.

However, wastewater infrastructure is a health issue, a primary duty of local government. It affects our water, our food, our lungs, our economy, and our quality of life. There is no “Friends of Sewers.”