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Trump administration wants to sell the Washington Aqueduct
Trump administration wants to sell the Washington Aqueduct
By Robert McCartney June 6 at 5:13 PM
The Trump administration wants to sell the Washington Aqueduct, stirring fears among some that the White House’s passion for privatization could mean higher water bills for 1 million residents in the District and Northern Virginia.
But the plan, buried in a few short lines in a budget proposal of more than 1,200 pages, may lead to a different outcome. Some officials in the District want the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which operates the aqueduct, instead to turn over the facility to D.C. Water, a public utility. ... In that case, water rates would not increase as much because there would be no need to earn a return for investors, according to officials and private analysts.
But there’s a catch: D.C. Water would want to pay the federal government far less than the $119 million than the administration wants from the sale.
The aqueduct proposal is an example of the hurdles facing the Trump administration’s ambitious plan to privatize public assets, such as roads and bridges. The administration would then use proceeds from the sales of the assets to fund new infrastructure projects.
....
Robert McCartney is The Post’s senior regional correspondent, covering politics and policy in the greater Washington, D.C area. Follow @McCartneyWP
By Robert McCartney June 6 at 5:13 PM
The Trump administration wants to sell the Washington Aqueduct, stirring fears among some that the White House’s passion for privatization could mean higher water bills for 1 million residents in the District and Northern Virginia.
But the plan, buried in a few short lines in a budget proposal of more than 1,200 pages, may lead to a different outcome. Some officials in the District want the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which operates the aqueduct, instead to turn over the facility to D.C. Water, a public utility. ... In that case, water rates would not increase as much because there would be no need to earn a return for investors, according to officials and private analysts.
But there’s a catch: D.C. Water would want to pay the federal government far less than the $119 million than the administration wants from the sale.
The aqueduct proposal is an example of the hurdles facing the Trump administration’s ambitious plan to privatize public assets, such as roads and bridges. The administration would then use proceeds from the sales of the assets to fund new infrastructure projects.
....
Robert McCartney is The Post’s senior regional correspondent, covering politics and policy in the greater Washington, D.C area. Follow @McCartneyWP
HABS/HAER/HALS: Cabin John Aqueduct Bridge, MacArthur Boulevard, spanning Cabin John Creek at Parkway, Cabin John, Montgomery County, MD
By the way, wouldn't "the Washington Aqueduct" make a swell name for Washington's professional football team?
