Last month, Passaic County, New Jersey had at least three water main breaks. One early in the month affected about 200,000 people and left customers without water for six days. A long boil water advisory followed. 

Just this week in the Hudson County city, Hoboken, customers suffered through their third water main break in two weeks, also triggering a boil advisory for part of the city and leaving local officials spearheading water distribution efforts.

Former Rutgers University Professor Daniel Van Abs — an expert on water resource management — joined WNYC's Michael Hill to talk about what causes these water main breaks and what solutions lie ahead for officials looking to fix the problem.