Digging up your own well, is free. At least, that’s what my husband told me, when I asked him if they ever paid for water in their province in the Philippines. Growing up, we have our own electric pump, I think my parents paid for the electricity, but water is free, they paid for the infrastructure, including its maintenance yearly though, until 2010. My mother told me that in 2010 a small-scale independent provider services them with water, it is cheaper, she said than paying for electricity. As for drinking water, my parents both decided to buy than use faucet water.
Here in the US, we’ve been to apartments were water is included in our rent payment, and there were some, just like where we are now, that we pay for our monthly water usage.
That is the reality. If we want to drink clean, fresh water, we have to pay for it. If we want to have water at all, we have to pay for the infrastructure, or we pay the service providers, private organizations or water districts or if you live in a place where the government provides free water, then you’re lucky! That’s just the way it is.
On 28 July 2010, through Resolution 64/292, the United Nations General Assembly explicitly recognized the human right to water and sanitation and acknowledged that clean drinking water and sanitation are essential to the realisation of all human rights. The Resolution calls upon States and international organisations to provide financial resources, help capacity-building and technology transfer to help countries, in particular developing countries, to provide safe, clean, accessible and affordable drinking water and sanitation for all.
So that means, what it means right?
But why do I still have to pay for clean, fresh water?
Unfortunately, although no nation voted against the resolution in 2010, about 40 nations refused to vote. Some of the nations that abstained to vote were US, Canada, Australia and many European countries. It is obvious because these countries mostly treat water as a commodity.
Amidst all debates, issues and resolution, we should all do our part in taking action to start valuing water as it is already a scarce resource.
If you are the lucky ones who get free water, then make use of it wisely. If you pay for your water, then make use of it wisely. If you know someone who doesn’t have access to free water at all, then help and share your resources, join non-governmental organizations to help them be provided with water, do positive actions to provide positive results.
If you want global change, it won’t happen tomorrow.
Each one of us, can only function within our control, it will also do us no good to just be in the know and not act on it.
If we all start conserving water now, in our own little ways, whether we paid for it or not, that’s a better resolution.
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