resistance to pay the cost of water

“You can go a day without a phone or TV,” he added. “You can’t go a day without water.”

But in many cities, residents have protested loudly when asked to pay more for water and sewer services. In Los Angeles, Indianapolis,
Sacramento — and before Mr. Hawkins arrived, Washington — proposed rate
increases have been scaled back or canceled after virulent ratepayer
dissent.

So when Mr. Hawkins confronted the upset crowd near Dupont Circle, he sensed an opportunity to explain why things needed to change. It was a
snowy day, and while water from the broken pipe mixed with slush, he
began cheerily explaining that the rupture was a symptom of a nationwide
disease, according to people present.

Mr. Hawkins — who at 49 has the bubbling energy of a toddler and the physique of an aging professor — told the crowd that the average age of
the city’s water pipes was 76, nearly four times that of the oldest city
bus. With a smile, he described how old pipes have spilled untreated
sewage into rivers near homes.

“I don’t care why these pipes aren’t working!” one of the residents yelled. “I pay $60 a month for water! I just want my toilet to flush!
Why do I need to know how it works?”

Mr. Hawkins smiled, quit the lecture, and retreated back to watching his crew.

On Capitol Hill, the plight of Mr. Hawkins and other utility managers has become a hot topic. In the last year, federal lawmakers have
allocated more than $10 billion for water infrastructure programs, one
of the largest such commitments in history.

But Mr. Hawkins and others say that even those outlays are almost insignificant compared with the problems they are supposed to fix. An
E.P.A. study last year estimated that $335 billion would be needed
simply to maintain the nation’s tap water systems in coming decades. In
states like New York, officials estimate that $36 billion is needed in
the next 20 years just for municipal wastewater systems.

As these discussions unfold, particular attention is being paid to Mr. Hawkins. Washington’s water and sewer system serves the White House,
many members of Congress, and two million other residents, and so it
surprised some when Mr. Hawkins was hired to head the agency last
September, since he did not have an engineering background or the résumé
of a utility chief.