Monday, September 12, 2011

How much would you pay for a glass of water?

How much would you pay for a glass of water? I wish I had a more subtle way to say this, but people put no value on water. There is just a belief that knobs will be turned and water will run magically run from the tap. “Sure we pay for water.” In reality to say that we pay for water is a joke. Rates charged for water in Travis County are based on usage. I know what you are thinking “the more water people use the higher the price”. Well that would be the sane way to price a commodity that is in incredible demand wouldn’t it. However, it is all relative to the starting point right.

This glass of water costs the average person about a 1/10th of a cent.

The first 2000 gallons of water a household in Travis County uses costs 0.735 cents a gallon. Yep you heard me right. Not 73 cents per gallon, but zero point seven three five cents a gallon. Not even one penny per gallon. That’s ok, we get you on the next 43,000 gallons, cause the next 43,000 gallons you use will cost you 0.42 cents per gallon. Not even half a penny a gallon. Man! I can hear those sprinklers being turned off right now. The rest of this sad tale runs something like this:

The next 15,000 gallons – 0.51 cents per gallon

The next 15,000 gallons after that – 0.62 cents per gallon

The next 25,000 gallons after that – 0.752 cents per gallon

Then finally if you really think you need more it’s gonna really cost you, 0.921 cents per every gallon you use over 100,000. Because if you need more than 100,000 gallons of water a month then we feel you should have to pay darn close to a penny a gallon.
So I repeat my question. How much would you pay for a glass of water? Now how much would you pay if you were standing at your front door facing a raging brush fire. Probably more than 0.921 cents.
Until we treat water like the precious commodity it is and stop thinking that we deserve to have lush golf course like lawns in central Texas we will continue to use the resource in an uncontrolled fashion. If water costs were able to fluctuate on the open market according to demand, much like oil and gas, we would see these prices more reflective of the value that water possesses. Water would likely jump to several dollars a gallon. In times of extreme drought, such as what Texas is experiencing today, water would be costly. Too costly to water your lawn.