Should there be another hole?

A leak in the water supply system washed away so much soil that part of the road collapsed. Due to the unstable situation, many local residents had to be evacuated from their homes. A lower railway tunnel flooded and was no longer usable because of the mud. Incidents of this kind have been occurring more often recently. In recent years, there have already been several major water main breaks, in Brussels and Antwerp. Besides burst water pipes, collapsing sewers are an ever-increasing concern.

Because nothing is more enlightening than children's language, I will not withhold from you the interpretation from Karrewiet, the VRT youth news programme, from 8 September. The little reporter Josse Peeters asks Brussels' Alderman for Public Works, Els Ampe, a childishly simple question: "Hey Els, why are our sewers in such a bad state? The alderman knows the answer: "They started building sewers 150 years ago and didn't provide enough money to maintain them every time. And now a lot of sewers are broken." Well, this sentence alone could be the subject of a full preface, but I don't want to keep the rest of the story from you. Because the bright boy continues: "Where will the money come from to fix that?" The alderman replies that the money comes from the water bill and the taxes paid by mum and dad. Unfortunately, we are not told whether mummy and daddy do not pay enough contributions and taxes to maintain the sewage system and the water pipes.

But our little Josse bravely continues, "A sinkhole like that, can it happen again?" The alderman can only answer affirmatively, but she knows the solution: "There are many places where they should repair the pipes much better, and then it won't happen again."  Our friend's Root Cause Analysis goes deeper: "Why do we actually wait until there is a sinkhole, and why don't we fix it earlier?" Our alderman demonstrates insight: "People don't like having work in the streets, and they don't see that the sewers are broken." She continues: "Then they ask the politician not to do the works, and then the sewers continue to break down." Alderman Els concludes with some wise advice: "The politicians must not give in to this and they must continue to repair the sewers (she means maintain them, of course), even if you cannot see that there is a problem underground."

See, it doesn't have to be more complicated. A few simple children's questions reveal the fundamental mechanisms why things so often go wrong when it comes to maintenance. And these problems are not unique to public infrastructure. If you ask me, our Josse, with his pertinent questions, can make the same instructive analysis in many companies. Perhaps it would be worth showing this piece of Karrewiet at the next board meeting... And our Josse? In a few years, he may start working as an accomplished Asset Manager!

Wim Vancauwenberghe
Maintenance Evangelist

PS: As a 'tax and water bill paying dad', I would like to give a few words of advice to the politicians: By now, your voters have understood that, after years of neglecting the maintenance, a lot of water pipes and sewers are in need of repair. Blaming this on those who did not provide a budget 150 years ago or on 'the people who do not want works in the streets' is very short-sighted. I suspect that your constituents prefer the inconvenience of pre-announced public works to having to evacuate their homes because of a sinkhole. It is your duty as a politician to invest sufficient resources in the timely maintenance of the vital basic public infrastructure. And that is why taxes or water bills do not need to go up even more. Use the money we pay for the necessary maintenance, instead of financing other things with it. And start today, because deferred maintenance is more expensive maintenance. Or do we need even more holes before something happens?