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Media discourse on ageing water infrastructure

Urban infrastructure in the United States is ageing, but media portrayal of this phenomena has been insufficient. Failures such as water main breaks are a daily occurrence in many cities. In addition, citizens are regularly reminded of the costs through increases in water and sewer rates. To explore media discourse on this issue, a content analysis of print media articles on water main breaks (Breaks), and water and sewer rate increases (Rates) for the period 1999–2012 was conducted. The analysis of approximately 500 randomly drawn articles on each topic found that media coverage of water infrastructure is an episodic affair with little attention to ongoing issues. Rates articles contained more details and a focus on governance, while Breaks articles addressed business concerns and were concentrated in older cities. The article concludes that media stories are not providing sufficient information to serve the needs of democratic governance of urban infrastructure issues.