Livonia Water Tank Explosion

One of the things I’ve started to notice is the failure or sheer disasters associated with infrastructure or other related items lately.  A ten million gallon water tank in my neighborhood explodes, dousing the neighborhood in massive amounts of water — which, due to the pressure blew water mains all around, the Texas fertilizer plant explodes, a refinery in Detroit on Fort Street catastrophically fails and blew its top off last evening, causing evacuations around the neighboring city.

Fort Street Refinery Fire in Detroit

The sudden apparent-surge in explosions in things that one would think are regulated makes me wonder if we have a serious two-fold problem: a lack of oversight, and a failing infrastructure.

Infrastructure isn’t just roads, highways and avenues…  It’s pipes.  It’s tanks.  All of these things, particularly when they’re related to anything hazardous.  All of this stuff requires oversight and inspection.  Is it just a freak occurrence in quick succession, or is it a symbol of things to come?

Related articles

• Our crumbling infrastructure: More headaches may be in the pipeline (stltoday.com)
• Rooftop Infrastructure: NYC Water Tanks (bimontherocks.typepad.com)
• Texas Legislature should invest in water infrastructure (star-telegram.com)
• Water Utility Leaders to Urge Passage of WIFIA Infrastructure Solution (prweb.com)
• Why Next-Generation Digital Products Need Cloud Infrastructure (hiscoxusa.com)
• Private Activity Bonds (PABs) The Way To Fund Municipal Water Infrastructure Projects (wateronline.com)
• EPA: Calif failed to spend $455M on water projects (newsobserver.com)
• County gets grant for Rawlings water system (times-news.com)
• California Failed to Spend Millions on Water Projects, E.P.A. Says (nytimes.com)