Water Main Breaks and Lousy Infrastructure All Around

This city is old. And we are reminded of that more often than we like. Two days ago we received notice that there was a water leak on the street behind us around supper time. It has happened before, with water gushing down Capitol Hill. With the ridiculous temperatures it's a scary thought to think what could really happen. Just to be on the safe side, we filled the tub with water. I'm not sure when the initial damage evaluation was done, but the water works crew started doing prep work yesterday morning. By the time I came home for lunch, repairs were in full swing, with desperate requests for people to move their cars away from the site.  The noise was ridiculous. When I came home after work and late in to the evening it was ongoing. This morning, cars were parked as usual, and a big block of cement covered the hole. All I can think of is that this rarely occurred in our Milwaukee neighborhood and if it did, the response was immediate. But I will always be forever grateful that I chose a career path that meant I would work indoors - out of the horrible weather conditions, dirt, and never having to worry about where the bathroom was. Today as were were driving through Alexandria - another very old place - guess what we saw? Some businesses will never go out of business - especially is you live in one that needs constant fixing. And it's always after the fact. Has anyone ever heard of prevention? There are more important things to think about.