Water Is Money

By Jim Lauria

"Why isn't water free?" Not surprisingly, that's a common query on Google — common enough that there are some outstanding responses right at the top of the screen when you type it in. After all, water is everywhere. And because it's vital to survival, we see it as a human right, linked to a moral imperative different from any other commodity. Of course, there are significant costs tied with pumping, conveying, metering and, perhaps most importantly, purifying the water we pay for. So although we tend to undervalue water compared to its importance, we do have to pay something for it. Or, as my friend Steve Bhaerman likes to say, "water is a we-source, not a free-source."