For those who remain skeptical that water/sewer infrastructures is not one of the most critical (and expensive) issues facing the United States right now, you can easily see several examples of major infrastructure failures at the following links:

Baltimore – 42″ water main breaks creating an urban river in seconds.

Pittsburgh – water main breaks creates massive sinkhole (this one has a great photo!)

Kalama, Wa – goes without water for several hours after line break drains storage tanks, with a loss of millions of gallons of water.

San Francisco – a 100-year old pipeline gives way flooding nearby businesses and closing streets for days