Drinking water systems can misbehave in a variety of ways: pipe breaks, loss of pressure, inadequate flow, poor quality water, and others. Yet, the costs and consequences associated with these misbehaving systems are seldom comprehensively evaluated when systems are designed, operated, and maintained. These costs are often borne by a variety of stakeholders, including utility companies, consumers, and taxpayers. However, these costs can also cascade to other parties rarely considered, with possible impacts on couriers, public transport infrastructure, firefighters, homeowners, businesses, and institutions, often in ways that are difficult to quantify. Adding to the complexity, some initially bad consequences can occasionally have unexpected benefits, particularly when the resulting lessons lead to better ways of designing, operating, or rehabilitating systems. This paper explores some of this complexity with the goals of provoking greater discussion and increasing our understanding of how water systems can misbehave, and how much this misbehavior can cost, with the ultimate goal of better understanding the evaluation of risk.