Over the last 100 years, we have spent huge amounts of money building out an amazing infrastructure of water, sewage, electrical and transportation conduits throughout the United States. You would think that with all this capital investment, some funds would be set aside for preventative maintenance. These entities will fail. It is not a matter of if, it is a matter of when.
A big when happened yesterday in Los Angeles - from FOX News:
Broken water main floods UCLA campus, forces rescue of drivers, pedestrians
A 93-year-old water pipe burst under Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles Tuesday afternoon, sending a geyser of water spewing 30 feet in the air and flooding parking structures and buildings on the UCLA campus, including the school's famed basketball arena, Pauley Pavilion.
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power General Manager Jim McDaniel said that the 30-inch pipe was shut off at approximately 7 p.m. local time Tuesday, three-and-a-half hours after it burst. McDaniel estimated that between eight and ten million gallons of water had been released, adding that the city of Los Angeles uses an estimated 55 million gallons each day. LADWP spokeswoman Michele Vargas had earlier estimated that the pipe carries an estimated 75,000 gallons of water per minute when functioning.
And how many other soft spots are out there waiting to let go. What will happen is a very expensive crash program to retrofit the water main. What should have happened is a cheap annual inspection followed by selective repair of weakening sections. But we can use that money for other stuff...