That Sinking Feeling (Chapter II, "Making Lemonade")

Waco, Texas isn't letting their new sinkhole, which opened up when a metal drainage tunnel built during a late-1960s urban renewal project collapsed, get them down. They're building a fancy new bridge over it, "along with a new section of the lighted concrete river trail." Trumpeted a city council member, "We've been looking at the best way to make this happen while considering future growth....Residents would like it."

America's wastewater infrastructure: D-minus. America's public relations skills: A-plus. Nice save, guys!

To be sure, the situation is not ideal. Waco has been hoping for years to develop the area into a yuppie-style "riverwalk" like in San Antonio. But the bridge can only be seven feet high (still enough for a "small tour boat" to pass under, the city manager gamely promises), because "there was no practical way to raise the 48-inch sewer line that will lie under the bridge."

Says Waco's city manager, who apparently has a very dry wit: "We analyzed those options very carefully."

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