PUB00156

• Year: 2006
• Title: Sharing Colorado River
• CWCB Section: Administration
• Author: Joe Gelt
• Description: Sharing Colorado River
• Publications - Doc Type: Other

Water markets can mean an end to water shortages

Page 2 of 27

--Water Strategist
Winter 1996

Introduction

"We are running out of water! " This theme echoes
through environmental publications and the popular
press. For example:

. The W orldwatch Institute predicts that by the
year 2025 "as many as 3 billion people could
be living in countries experiencing water
stress or chronic water scarcity." (Postel
1996,58).
. From the slums of Mexico to the
overburdened fanns of China, human
populations are outstripping the limited stock
of fresh water," says Time magazine.
"Mankind is poisoning and exhausting the
precious fluid that sustains all life" (Linden
1990,58).

Are these fears legitimate?

Not if we are talking about the Earth's total demand
and supply of water. While less than one per cent of
the world's total water supply is fresh water
available for human consumption, humans are only
using between 38 percent and 64 percent ofthe
readily available water (Rogers 1993,28). This is
true even though global water use has tripled since
1950 (Postel 1993, 68), and shot up 500-800
percent in the United States since the turn of the
century (Kenski 1990,5).

The problem is that clean water is not always in the
right place at the right time. Many developing
nations are water-scarce. In these poor countries,
especially in Africa and the Middle East, available
water is often contaminated. Diarrheal diseases,
which kill more than 3 million people a year, mostly
children, are often caused by unsanitary water
(World Bank 1992, 49).

We contend that water markets are the solution to
this problem. Here are a few examples of what
water markets can do.

http://www . perc.org/publications/policyseries/priming_ full. php ?s=2

9/12/2006