On 26-Aug-2004, "William W. Plummer" wrote:

First, water is cheap, $3 per 1000 gallons.

Where you live is the whole world? _You_ may think that water
is cheap, but if you had to walk 5km each way to the nearest
well every day, you'd think that water was pretty expensive.
That's reality in some parts of the _real_ world.

The Commonwealth of MA licenses each publically owned well for X many
gallons of water per day. THAT'S what causes the shortage!

What is the marginal cost of the next unit of clean water? If
waste increases, you have to come up with _new_ sources and new
infrastructure to process it. That is $$$

In parts of the US, there has been a permanent drawdown in the water
table. Hence the push to control overuse.

What you need to do is wake up and realize what's really happening
with water in this world. Canada and Russia have lots of water; most
of that is not where people live. Most other countries do not have
lots water. Get over it.

Mike