Water resource management: Changing perceptions of resource ownership in the United States

Summary

Although water is our most abundant renewable resource, there have always been problems with obtaining sufficient amounts. Even in areas where rainfall is adequate for agriculture, electric power production, industrial use, and public water supply, years of drought do occur. Fortunately, the long-standing perception that water is a “free” resource that can be used in any manner desired has recently begun to change. The final court ruling against Exxon Corporation in its sale of Hudson River water to a “water-poor” Caribbean country is but one example. As human population growth continues to soar, competition for finite resources, especially between commercial and public organizations, will intensify. Now is the time for scientists involved with decision-making to communicate more effectively (not only with one another, but with the legal system as well) about wise management of this finite natural resource.