I thought people were leaving/population was dropping before the water failed. Sure, no one wants to move to where there is no water but doing a one time fix on the water won’t fix the underlying issues either.

If the city is positioned in an economically important area, then whatever local laws and regulations are driving people away or discouraging people from staying need to be re-evaluated.

If the area isn’t particularly economically important then why put good money after bad?

Either way, the city should be able to maintain it itself.