This statement is being used by the Georgia Water Coalition in its important education effort. http://www.georgiawater.org/
For many years, Georgia has been blessed with an abundant supply
of
water. Our heritage of plentiful, clean, flowing water has driven
a
growth spurt and made our state an attractive location for businesses
and families. But now we face a new reality. Increased water
consumption, as well as an extended drought, has made it clear
that
water is a finite resource. Georgia is now at a crossroads.
Here is the question: Will Georgia put the natural resources
we
commonly share up for sale?
Since Roman times, we have believed that some resources are
so
essential to the common good that they should not be privately
owned.
They belong to all of us, subject to reasonable use by others.
Air is
like that. So too is flowing water.
This principle only makes sense. The very same water you used
to
brush your teeth this morning may have given life to a trout.
The
water you used to wash your dishes last night may be needed to
balance salinity in coastal marshes. The water pumped from the
aquifer in South Georgia may have already served a community near
the
fall line or may yet serve one on the coast. Flowing water is
needed
for too many uses in too many places to give it over to irrevocable
private ownership.
Yet there are those who would do just that. When water gets
scarce,
they say, the only way to allocate it efficiently is in the
marketplace, just like any other commodity such as oil or gold.
We take a different view. We are the Georgia Water Coalition
(GWC),
an alliance of over thirty organizations concerned with protecting
water as a public resource. We believe the marketplace will give
little value to the function of water as habitat or to the services
aquifers and streams provide that support the ecosystem as a whole.
Even economists who support water markets agree with that. We
believe
resources that belong to the people should be allocated by the
people
through democratic institutions.
If markets decide who gets water, it will not flow downhill
to serve
people and nature downstream. It will move uphill to where the
money
is. In the West, which has allowed private ownership of water
for
many years, the Colorado River no longer flows to the sea.
Since June the GWC has been meeting to develop a framework
for
thinking about water in Georgia that addresses not only the needs
of
agriculture and business, but also human health and the health
of the
natural system. While the group has looked at an array of water
issues, the coalition quickly agreed that the overarching need
is to
maintain water as a public resource in Georgia. Without that,
any
recommendations with regard to conservation, biodiversity,
groundwater or enforcement become much more difficult to implement.
The Joint Comprehensive Water Plan Study Committee, created
by the
General Assembly in 2001 to create a framework for a statewide
water
management plan, has released its recommendations. This group
had the
opportunity to declare water a public resource. Unfortunately,
it
chose not to do so, opening the door to private ownership of water
resources.
Those of us who believe that water must continue to be managed
for
the benefit of all Georgians are forwarding our recommendations
to
Governor Barnes and will push for their implementation during
the
2003 session.
That's where you come in. We need you to help build support
for
managing surface and ground water as a public resource. Here's
how
you can be a part of our efforts:
- Become a part of the Georgia Water Coalition's network of
supporters. You can register by calling 1-866-88-WATER or sign
up at
http://www.georgiawater.org/
- Sign a Georgia Water Coalition petition. It's available
online and
will be presented at meetings and events scheduled for the fall
and
early winter.
- Invite a coalition member to your Rotary or other civic club
to explain the issues.
Georgia has managed water for the benefit of all Georgians
since the
times of Oglethorpe. Moving toward private water markets is not
just
tinkering around the edges, it's a fundamental step in the wrong
direction.
By the Georgia Water Coalition