The first obvious question is why Roberts house and not the neighbors, what makes this so selective.

Can this be put back on the developer, builder, or even the electrican. Does grounding to the cold water pipe have an effect on this.

Do underground or overhead power lines have an effect on this.

I had an occurance where the customer had well water with pin holes in the pipe, (copper still in good shape, but massive pin holes, 6 to 8 in a 8ft. section)
He lived under high voltage power lines, so bad was the current on the pipes the leaks were almost not fixable, due to constantly being electrocuted.
In fact the fence around the yard showed a reading on a standard volt meter.
The power company has driven 20ft. deep ground rods to try and contain the electricity, which has helped I understand, but still not 100%.

This leads me to believe this problem of pin holes can be minimized or foreseen, or at least point liability torward something other than a phenomenon.