Many water utilities are faced with a backlog of cast iron water mains that have reached the end of their economic life. With backlogs exceeding annual replacement budgets, utility managers must decide which mains to replace, and which to defer. Performance and economics models were used to evaluate the economics of replacement cirteria that prioritizes candidates that include: MEEL break; hazard function; and shortest segments. A "hotspot" replacement strategy is used as an alternative to full block replacement to better utilize annual replacement funding. The impact to customers and the cost to the utility, and ultimately the consumer, were considered in making the best of a bad situation. Includes 6 references, tables, figures.