When my husband leaned over last Tuesday morning and told me there had been another water main break and we had no water, my response surprised even me.

“Okay.”

Not because I didn’t care. But because I wasn’t surprised.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t the first time. Like many Waterbury residents, I’ve watched aging infrastructure become an increasingly familiar part of life. The inconvenience wasn’t unexpected.

Like many families, we adapted. My parents live just down the road in Watertown, so we packed up laundry, filled water jugs for flushing toilets, and borrowed a shower. I checked in on my neighbor and reached out to friends nearby to see how they were managing and whether they needed anything.

Those conversations changed the way I thought about what had happened.

Almost immediately, I saw neighbors doing the same.

The local YMCA opened its doors and offered showers to residents who had nowhere else to go. Community organizations shared updates through social media. A former boss called to offer us his home to shower, do laundry, and even volunteered to drop off bottled water if we needed it.

Whether in Waterbury or at our family’s small casita in Puerto Rico, I’ve seen the same truth emerge: when public systems are strained, people become the safety net. Neighbors check on neighbors. Community organizations fill gaps. Families open their homes. That generosity is inspiring, but it should never be mistaken for a substitute for long-term investment.

The broken pipes exposed something else entirely: how much we rely on one another when everyday systems stop working. I’ve spent years talking about the importance of community partnerships. During those few days, I didn’t have to talk about them. I watched them in action.

When the water eventually came back, the questions remained.

What about residents without transportation to stay with family? Older adults living alone? Families already struggling to make ends meet? People who missed the latest update or didn’t know where to turn?

Those questions matter because they reveal something larger than a water main break.

When systems are under strain, trusted relationships become essential.

Nonprofits, faith communities, schools, neighborhood organizations, and local businesses often reach residents that government and traditional media cannot. They know who may need extra support and already have trusted ways to communicate. During a crisis, those relationships become lifelines, connecting people with reliable information and critical resources.

That’s why community resilience doesn’t begin when an emergency occurs. It begins years earlier by investing in relationships, strengthening partnerships, and building trust before they’re needed.

The recent water main breaks also exposed a deeper concern.

Many residents weren’t simply frustrated about being without water. They were frustrated because they didn’t know what was happening, how long it would last, or why this problem seems to keep happening.

One neighbor told me she felt left in the dark. She couldn’t understand why these breaks continue throughout the city or whether anyone was addressing the root cause. I don’t think she was alone. By then, the conversation wasn’t about when the water would come back. It was about whether people believed this cycle was ever going to change.

Strong communities don’t rely on Band-Aids to solve foundational problems. Whether we’re talking about aging water systems, neighborhood investment, or public confidence, lasting trust is built when people see problems addressed at their foundation and leaders communicate honestly about both the challenges and the path forward.

Every city with aging infrastructure will face moments like this. Waterbury is not alone. The question isn’t whether another emergency will happen. It almost certainly will.

The real question is whether we’ll use moments like this to strengthen not only the infrastructure beneath our streets, but also the partnerships and trust above them.

Because when the next crisis comes, and it will, our strongest infrastructure won’t be the pipes beneath our feet.

It will be the people who check on a neighbor. The parents who open their homes. The nonprofits that extend their services. The businesses that step up. The community leaders who bring people together.

Waterbury deserves infrastructure that is as dependable as its people. We’ve already proven that our neighbors will show up for one another when systems fail. Imagine what our community could accomplish if we invested in both with the same level of commitment.

Maybeth Morales-Davis of Waterbury was a member of the CT Mirror Community Editorial Board in 2022.