Every time I hit a severe bump on the road that is supposed to be a repaired pothole, I think of the workers who were assigned to that particular pothole. I think of all the times I've heard workers say "That's good enough, I'm ready to go to lunch early." Because of a few people's low standard of perfection, now tens and thousands of people must experience a slight turmoil in that spot over the next decade, slightly increasing wear/tear on their car.

Apply this attitude to storage of a fundamental resource: safe drinking water. There is negligence because people are in a hurry, or because things become so routine that the sanitation workers don't even pay attention anymore.

Personally, I drink all my water exclusively from a well. Untouched by human "sanitation" efforts. A few weeks ago I forgot to drive out to the country to refill my container with this well water, and had to drink from a city tap for about a week. I started getting ulcers all over my mouth. Perhaps this was coincidental, but it is the only time in the past few years that I have consistently drank city water over a sustained period. Chlorine, fluoride, who knows what else.

I will say that NYC is supposed to have some of the best water in the nation because their reservoir is fresh snow melt. But any water kept in one place too long will be contaminated.

“The idea is that flowing water never goes stale, so just keep on flowing.” -Bruce Lee