IF I BUY BATHWATER BY THE LITRE WILL YOU PAY ME TO FLUSH?

We are pumping water from underground wells in unprecedented amounts, but are there environmental or political dangers in doing so?  Is water public or private?  How will we distribute this resource as more people vie for water rights in the 21st Century?

I personally find it odd that people pay money for something that is usually free as long as it is provided in a nifty little plastic bottle.  Wow, a 99 cent bottle, how cool!  If this were gasoline, you would be paying more than $6 per gallon at the current prices.

[T]he industry has been transformed by Americans' enormous thirst for packaged water, as annual per capita consumption has gone from less than three gallons in 1980 to more than 26 today. Poland Spring and Deer Park are among several regional brands owned by the Swiss firm Nestle, which last year controlled more than 31 percent of the U.S. bottled-water market.

Corpwatch

Not only are we sipping more bottled water, our push for healthier alternatives in school is leading to a big marketing push at our children.  Just wait until the little ones start begging for Cap'n Crunchwater

NEW YORK -- As soda is being expelled from schools, companies are clamoring to create the next must-drink kids' product that abides by the beverage industry's new self-imposed guidelines.

There is no shortage of new drinks on the way looking to fill the void left by sugary sodas. But an unlikely candidate is helping to lead the charge: bottled water.

The potential market is so vibrant that companies big (Nestlé Waters North America, Cott) and small (Kids Only, Advanced H2O) are trying to package nature's first beverage in such a way that kids will demand moms put it on their shopping lists.

Brandweek

Meanwhile the water wars are just heating up on the Western Front

New Mexico is also spending millions of taxpayers' dollars to make payments in lieu of sending Pecos River water to Texas--which has its own exploding growth-water supply situation to deal with--and some critics of New Mexico's current water situation say that Texas won't be content with mere money if New Mexico doesn't honor its promise to deliver Rio Grande water.

And the tiny silvery minnow is having a huge impact on Rio Grande River as well. Lack of snowpack next year will pit the state against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which requires a constant flow of water from Nov. 16 to June 15 to maintain the species.

New Mexico's current water situation is similar to that in many Western states: Very few states have actually accounted for all the existing water rights in the states. Montana recently imposed a $20-per-water-right fee to pay for an accounting there.

New West

In May, wells were turned off for many farmers in the South Platt River area.  Due to low snowpack and to ensure the rights of senior water rights owners, pumping was not allowed for many farmers with crops in the ground.  Growth in many areas outstrips water rights and everyone is borrowing water from somewhere.  Here in Northern California we have an old joke...Flush twice, Los Angeles needs the water.

Don't look for this one on eBay. But it's one of the most precious items in arid Nevada.

Carson City Rotary Club President John Allen is donating two acre-feet of water for an auction to benefit the Carson Tahoe Regional Cancer Center at Saturday's Armed Forces Day victory party.

The water is in Dayton, 12 miles east of Carson City and is enough to supply two families of four for a year.
KRNV

In Marion City Texas, the City Council is telling developers that before they will be given their permits they need to bring...their own water.  Maybe that is what the rest of these low water/high development areas should be doing.  The City Council says it is only looking out for the best interests of the residents already in their district.  How novel.