While catastrophe off the coast of Louisiana quells calls of “Drill, Baby, Drill,” here in the greater Boston area, this one should silence libertarian “roads and military” minimalism. We don’t have water-borne illnesses in this country to the extent our water supply is safe. For the latter to continue we need to reinvest in infrastructure. This would make us safer than spending $11B a month for war overseas.

8 million gallons per hour gush from huge Weston pipe | Backup reservoirs tapped; 2m ordered to boil water

By Michael Levenson and Beth DaleyGlobe Staff / May 2, 2010

Nearly 2 million residents of Greater Boston lost their supply of clean drinking water when a huge pipe abruptly burst yesterday, prompting authorities to declare a state of emergency and to impose a sweeping order for homeowners and businesses to boil the untreated water now flowing from their taps.

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