Water Commons: privatization, accountability and transparency

New Mexico Water Law 101 the State owns the water in New Mexico and it is in public trust for the citizens of New Mexico. Water Law gives people, through the appropriation process, the right to use the water.
A few years ago the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) (the Feds) said that they owned the water. However, most people understood the BOR's role was strictly conveyance of water and it is what the state and municipalities thought the role of the Feds were. This issue is sure to be the next big court cases of Water in the West in 2010 and beyond that will speak to the delivery of water to TX, NM, AZ UT, NV, CA and Mexico. I agree with your principle of a water commons but according to NM law we already have one. There is currently such a water law case in Georgia, Alabama and Florida right now, as Florida has sued Georgia for water delivery and the Army Corp of Engineers. BOR is in the Western States as the water conveyor. When one takes into consideration the drought and the 9 Coal Fire plants in Georgia and 4 nuclear power plants which uses billions of gallons of water a day and water becomes scarce; the nuclear reactors that rely on external water sources end overheating and spill like that of 3-Mile Island. Just this last year in France this happened during intense heatwaves where three towns in the Provence region now have contaminated water. Georgia alone produces more CO2 than 5 countries in Western Europe. Everyone in the southeast would have enough water if they were to transition to Renewable Energy. Water and energy are intrinsically attached.
The same goes for AZ and NM but we have subsidized water as the dangling Carrot to lure Intel to Albuquerque and the list goes on.
Currently, there is NO Aquifer depletion testing in NM. In my opinion this is done purposefully so that nuclear weapons industry can use all it needs and that ignorance is bliss because unsustainable development can continue unimpeded.
There is a good NM Legislature bill that Dede Feldman (D) Albuquerque is sponsoring to study the depletion rates. This is a good bill and a start to real water balancing. This is what is needed before we tap brackish ancient water. Furthermore, the cost of Reverse Osmosis Desalination is costly. What they will do with the saline from this process is to pump it back into the aquifer soiling the nest just like they are currently doing in Las Cruces.
Anytime an idea pops up regarding Public Trusts similar to Land Trusts it is a form of privatization. Even the glorious Maude Barlow has to be corrected as she supports "Covenants of Water" to regulate how water will be used worldwide. Covenants are also a term used in property holdings to regulate allowances. The UN is grappling with this issue even as we speak. The closest we came to assuring that we protect water is to declare water a "right of nature." How long that will hold up in order to keep an ecosystem whole in a time of permanent drought caused by climate change is anyone’s bet. We need to declare water right unto itself and address the connection of water and energy. This is the “Real Deal and the one legislators are ignoring, both in our state and nation.
Currently in CA it takes a coal fire plant to operate a RO desalination plant. I worked with a Stanford engineering professor who has made a break through in operating a RO desal and still achieve the California AB 32 CO2 standards and the end use relies on conservation no matter how one operates the plant. This is the only way-- Conservation.
There in one other thing that needs to be realized here. As long as there is no accountability and transparency there will be no solving the problems we face i.e. like the Bailout and the 0.08% for NM. Geithner has not a specific plan because there is so much fraud that if the people really knew the bottom-line there would be a mass revolt. To hold accountable the ring of thieves would be to bring down the masters of the universe. Just like NM to get accountability on water use and connect the external costs of subsidizing we would see who got the giveaways and who gave it to them and why. Still I am hopeful enough to believe that to have an actual water balance we would be on the road to sustainability.
Elaine Cimino
Artist, Activist and Author
http://thirstyforchange.blogspot.com