The town of Loveland, Colo.

, for example, keeps a tank of drinking

water full of trout. When the trout start to die, the water
managers know something is wrong with the water and
investigate. Bigger systems take multiple measurements at
different points in the system every day. Following the Sept. 11
attacks, New York City increased the number of daily water
samples. It now tests its tap water more than 330,000 times each