Many local governments run the water / waste water utilities, including mine. The utility is difficult for us (small size with high per-user costs) and I would agree that potable water is becoming threatened. State and federal requirements add to our costs, for example requiring us to treat well water to remove radio-nuclides, which most other countries ignore. Infrastructure needs (maintain, replace or increase throughput) went ignored for decades. I struggle with fellow members of my town council to address these needs. Our town has only about 650 residents and a couple hundred businesses. When it became obvious that we needed to start planning to replace our waste water treatment plant, we discovered a $5m cost. We allowed a business to build a large inn, annexing land into town, because they agreed to pay for it. Water is going to become an ever more pressing issue, not just out west where over-building is making it increasingly scarce, but any where local, state and federal governments don't take actions to protect potable sources of water. People already complain about costs and we are just charging our costs and trying to keep our small utility infrastructure viable. We are always looking for ways to control our costs, but our infrastructure needs are high.
Thank you, Mark Snyder -----Original Message----- >If you don't think (fresh) water is a scarce resource I really don't >know what to say. The US water table is steadily dropping due to over >use from inefficient agriculture and domestic use made possible by >governments not charging what the water is worth. You contradict yourself. You claim it is scarce and then describe how it is so cheap that it is wasted. Anything scarce is going to be expensive. The market is currently clearing at that price. That is the price. Not expensive. You then use that as a lead in to an assertion that water is being sold cheap. That is step one to a corportae-induced price run up. This is already happening in Brazil where water sources are being bought by large US corporations and then being shut down. My reply to your post is Q.E.D. ************************************************************************* ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *************************************************************************
