Freshwater Resources

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Freshwater Resources
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Principal Issues in Renewable Natural
Resources 1. sustainability management
approaches 2. conservation vs. preservation
wise use and the rights of nature
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A major difficulty in allocating groundwater is
that the future value of water left in a basin is
not captured solely by individuals who decide to
conserve. Water left for the future is a fugitive
resource that is its value can be captured by
anyone.. Each individual realizes that anything
he leaves behind may be consumed by others.
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Each individual achieves the greatest net
benefits by pumping water earlier than the
others, because the costs increase as the level
is lowered. The "tragedy of the commons" occurs
because each individual has an incentive to pump
water earlier than anyone else, so the supply is
rapidly depleted. Anderson and Leal, 1989
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• Sierra Club Water Commodification Principles
• Water is a public resource, not a commodity.
  Public policy must ensure the sustainability of
  safe water supplies for the benefit of all people
  and the natural environment.
• All water resources must be protected as a public
  trust so that commercial use of water does not
  diminish public or ecological benefits.
• 3. Access to clean, sufficient and affordable
  drinking water is a human right. This right must
  be protected by government policies, while also
  ensuring access to safe and adequate quantities
  of water resources for all wildlife on the planet
  and sustainability of these resources.

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• Motivations for Private Outsourcing of Water
  Management
• Cost savings in infrastructure development and in
  day-to-day operations
• Guaranteed services, costs and environmental
  compliance through contractual performance
  measures
• 3. Innovation, customized solutions, latest
  technologies, best management practices

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It was a bit like the Sorcerer's Apprentice. You
start the process going and you gotta have more
water, more water, more water. And you, the
father of the city's water system, are supposed
to continue to provide this water. It's a
terrible place to be. Catherine Mullholland
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Lowering per capita water use in the Metropolitan
Water District may be impossible. It would cross
the line of fundamental changes in
lifestyle. General Manager, MWD (1988)
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Lowering per capita water use in the Metropolitan
Water District may be impossible. It would cross
the line of fundamental changes in
lifestyle. General Manager, MWD (1988)
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