As Congress and the new administration focus on infrastructure, we have our own infrastructure challenges in Washington, D.C., none more than with our storm and sanitary sewer systems. Technological innovations are among the sources of those challenges, and innovation will be key to effective response.

Sewer systems are exposed to constant abuse. During a major storm in Washington, water flow can rise in minutes from a trickle to a 12-foot-high billion-gallons-an-hour cascade. Few realize how much these floods sweep through: entire car engines, animal carcasses, large slabs of concrete.