The mistakes that lead to the corrosion were caused by a careless political wrangling overseen by a series of appointed managers and boards, essentially judges in all but name. Even if you don't see it that way, the point is that the protests of concerned citizens did little to stay the hands of the people empowered to make stupid mistakes quickly. Further, they dragged their heels on pipe-replacement, maintaining for years that it would be unnecessary. The actual, physical replacement could have been done much faster.

Fixing these problems in a timely manner would require more fundamental changes to how they're handled, not simply better organization and awareness within the current paradigm.