this is not backwoods rural america at all. it's just an unfortunate situation that was created probably a hundred years ago or more. and the people have to pay for it in a big way now. because the government is choosing to spend its money elsewhere right now, there's very limited money for communities to install adequate drinking water and wastewater, and i think it's criminal. that's my feeling. this country has to get its priorities right, and they're wrong right now. narrator: herminie faces problems because of the way its residents laid out the town generations earlier. across the country, many other cities and towns deal with the unexpected consequences from their early infrastructure design. los angeles county is a land of sprawling development. with development comes hundreds of square miles of concrete, leaving no way for water to naturally soak into the ground. in areas of such widespread urbanization, flooding can be devastating. man: back in early 1930s, there was a flooding that took a lot of lives and property. as