Minnesota Lacks Funding to Update Aging Infrastructure

LITTLE FALLS, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota doesn’t have enough funding to update all of its aging underground infrastructure.

Minnesota Public Radio reports that water and sewer pipes are reaching the end of their expected life spans in many areas across the state.

Jeff Freeman is the executive director of the Minnesota Public Facilities Authority. He says many Minnesota towns have water treatment plants that are 30 or 40 years old, and pipes that date back to the Great Depression.

Freeman says small cities have a particularly difficult time dealing with the costs of replacing aging infrastructure. He says his agency gives out about $150 million to $200 million a year in low-interest loans. That’s enough to cover about 30 to 40 projects.

State officials say about $11 billion will be needed over the next two decades to cover improvements.