Mayors Talk Aging Infrastructure Using Flint As Example
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- Standing shoulder to shoulder with mayors from across America, Flint Mayor Karen Weaver sounded the alarm.
"Everybody should have clean, affordable water and that's something we don't have in Flint," said Weaver. "Across the country, we have aging infrastructure and what happened in Flint can happen anywhere."
The Conference of Mayors had their winter leadership meeting in Miami Beach. They discussed aging infrastructure in cities across the country. Flint is a glaring example of how untreated, dirty water, mixed with old lead pipes can lead to a contamination disaster.
"We can't drink the water. We can't cook with it. We don't want to bathe in that water," said Weaver.
In South Florida, we have our own infrastructure issues to deal with.
"In Miami Beach, we're building a new convention center. At the same time, we're fighting back sea level rise. We're looking to have our state help us as much as possible," said Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levin.
In Miami Beach, rising sea levels are forcing the city to take action to avert disaster down the road. We see the flooding that happens during King Tides - that's why new pumps are going in to deal with it.
"It's something that doesn't get paid attention to because it's underground," said Weaver. "You don't see it all the time and we need to pay attention to that and we need to upgrade that infrastructure and maintain it."
Getting a jump on aging infrastructure is a big issue with mayors and they want to make sure it's a big issue up the chain. They're urging candidates running for president to pay close attention.
"There are major infrastructure problems in this country that have been ignored for many years. You either pay now or pay later. Unfortunately, the later costs a lot more," said New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landreau.
