What WE can do: National

Tobie Reeuwijk

Right now, we the people need to do something. We aren’t doing anything to prepare for a possible water crisis. As individuals, most people don’t conserve water because it is a hassle. The fact that the price of water is low doesn’t deter individuals or corporations either. According to Benjamin Grumbles of the EPA “Water efficiency and full-cost pricing are the wave of the future...the more people understand the true value of water… the more people they’ll realize prices need to reflect that.” (US News and Business) That’s nice Mr. Grumbles, but the people do not control the price of water directly, (besides the fact we drain supply thereby in the future create a demand) the GOVERNMENT is responsible for that. The government needs to at least speculate to raise the price of water to a “full-cost” value.
Increasing water prices will not only force people to reconsider how much they waste each month, big corporations will be forced to find alternative solutions to their huge water consumptions. Mainly the bottled water industry (mentioned in the current situation), which is making ridiculous profits off the draining of our future.
In addition to reducing use, we need to find ways to prevent unnecessary waste. Just a week ago, I was driving down the road towards school, and there was a huge hole in the ground shooting out water at least 100 feet high. I stood there in awe; watching millions of gallons of fresh water skyrocket into, well, waste! I watched for about 5 minutes, tried to take a picture but failed, and there was absolutely no sign of response. I called 911 to report it, and they had not heard a thing about a water main break on Waialae Avenue… This ignorance towards the importance of fixing a water main break, or even replacing entire infrastructures to reduce water waste, needs to be addressed. Water main breaks should be just as important to the local “powers to be” of water management as a traffic accident is to a cop. Water is life, and letting it waste is draining the life of the future. Locally in Hawaii we hear about water main breaks frequently, and we definitely aren’t the only ones. Nationwide, The American Water Works Association estimates that there are 250,000 to 300,000 water main breaks per year, and this number continues to increase as our water infrastructure deteriorates. (US News and Business)
Wasting precious water isn’t the only consequence of a water main break either; it causes mass disruption to the surrounding area. Washington D.C had a serious break of a 36-inch main back in 2005. It affected almost all the restaurants in the area, and homes were flooded. It caused most of these restaurants to close, and no bathrooms in the area were functional either. The water flowed onto the sidewalks and onto the streets for most of the day because they were unable to turn off the water. Most hospitals were unable to accept patience due to the lack of water. Repairing the break could take several days and the break might have possibly shifted the land near the break. This showcase of widespread chaos shows how important water really is, and what could happen if we don’t conserve it. (The Washington Post)
Aside from poor attention and funding for our national water infrastructure, we have no coordinated policy to address our issues as well as international water issues. We need to establish a National Water commission to coordinate and tackle these problems. By establishing this commission, they should also regulate private usage and consumption of water. Large corporations, mainly bottled water are gaining more and more power in the water “business”. Putting the power into business is absolutely inappropriate in this situation, because business is all about MAKING MONEY! Making money by selling water means PUMPING AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE! Large corporations couldn’t care less about how over excessive pumping affects the land, and how it detracts greatly from our supplies. Over pumping can cause larger problems like allowing pollutants into the aquifers. (Gainesville Sun)
In the end, our government needs to stop groveling to water lobbyists, and greed, and do something for the nation. The Government has the power to put a full price on water, and to take responsible control over our water supply, not business or the public. They also need to set aside more money for rebuilding our old water-main infrastructure, and to put more money into wastewater treatment. According to US News and Business, “Federal funding for clean drinking water and waste-water treatment, in fact, has declined 24 percent since 2001.” (US News and Business). We the people still can do something. We cannot rely on current government officials to determine our fate. As US citizens, we need be active in understanding issues such as an impending water crisis, and elect officials who will address these effectively. We have the power to vote, and the power to use day-to-day water conservation techniques to ensure a better future for our people.