The APHA's choice of water as its theme this year -- the "21st-century challenge," the group says -- may make you think of drought in India or desertification in Africa. But it wants you to think about you: A clean water supply is becoming a major problem in industrialized countries. The aging pipes in the U.S.'s creaky water system could potentially corrode in as little as 20 years, according to water expert Tim Ford of the University of New England. There are already some 240,000 water-main breaks each year, with 1.7 trillion gallons of water lost. To fix the system, we'll need to invest more than $200 billion over the next two decades. This year's federal stimulus plan ponied up just $6 billion -- a drop in the proverbial bucket. -- ACL

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