Twin Falls Idaho Looks to be Falling Apart and Fast

There were wooden pipes in the ground. Leading to the Twin Falls County Courthouse. A work crew digging up the lawn discovered the pipes a few years ago. I was told the wood was still in good shape, because Twin Falls is a young city, compared to what you find along the East Coast. Yet we had a natural gas leak on the south side Wednesday evening, and driving home the same day Falls Avenue East was closed for repairs.

As dramatic as the closures look, we’re in good shape, according to a story I read in the Washington Post (it’s behind a paywall). The story warned that much of the United States will suffer from climate change, but some locations will be practically immune. The piece allowed me to type in my home city and get a review of the future. Twin Falls isn’t in any danger, and one of the reasons listed was good infrastructure! That tells me the pipes in the ground are in much worse shape in other places.

The Post story focuses on the nation, so it doesn’t address our ongoing water issues, many of which, I would argue, are driven by population growth.

In my time here, I’ve seen the number of people grow by almost a quarter.

That’s going to slow as the inevitable water restrictions land with a thud.

Finally, I find the road work and gas line repairs frustrating, but better to get them out of the way now when there’s an ability to pay for the rehabilitation.

Money is going to be in short supply in a heavily indebted nation in just a few years.