EDITORIAL: The un-sexy work of infrastructure maintenance

The deterioration of the infrastructure of any city, much less one the age of Macon, is gradual and out of sight. It's hard to muster the political will to fix something voters can't see. However, that course of action leads to disaster. Ask the leaders, state and local, in Flint, Michigan. Not only has their inattention risked the future of the people of Flint, it has placed the economic viability of the city, already on a precarious precipice, in jeopardy.

Can you imagine what would happen to our economic base if our water supply was found to be toxic and possibly a source of a Legionnaires' disease outbreak? Obviously, Flint has the worst water and arguably Macon's is one of the best. Our issues with water are vastly different -- not what's coming in, but what to do with stormwater on its way out.

The good news is that Macon-Bibb County leadership has identified the problem, and while it still doesn't know the exact scope of the issue, it is taking steps to find out and address it. In the current special purpose local option sales tax, $14 million has been set aside for stormwater issues. In the next SPLOST, to be voted on in November, more funds, possibly $30 million, will be set aside to continue the work. Long term there are options to consider. Some municipalities create a stormwater utility that charges users to use the system. Locally, an idea that is being considered is turning over stormwater maintenance to the water authority.

What's gained by doing nothing? Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it's not lurking just below the surface of our streets ready to pull us into a sink hole.

This story was originally published February 17, 2016 at 9:36 PM with the headline "EDITORIAL: The un-sexy work of infrastructure maintenance ."