SYRACUSE, N.Y.--It was a nightmare scenario: As thousands of Syracuse University basketball fans poured into town on February 1, 2014 for a big match against arch rival Duke, a water main break flooded Armory Square, surrounding the city's iconic 24-second shot clock monument. Days before the game, there were 11 other water main breaks around the city. Mayor Stephanie Miner was desperate for help to get a handle on the problem; on average, water lines in the city were breaking 332 times a year, nearly once every day. But she couldn't get the state to help foot the bill for the onerous costs of updating the city's underground infrastructure. She even tried to shame state officials with a "Hunger Games"-style ad campaign that showed her wading in thigh-high water wielding a wrench.