Water a Fundamental Right?

[Travis In Austin]

38 minutes ago, Dave1290 said:

 

Research their Board of Directors...  They've always said water is not FREE and shouldn't be.  So with that mind-set the US Govt has always just "looked the other way."  They tap the Rockies and many other Natl Park systems and get away with it.  Research their bottling plants and they're almost all near a Natl Park they tap...  They're pathetic!

It's not the US Govt. it is the State in that case.

 

Water law in the West, is different, it is the Prior Appropriation doctrine (first in time, first in right).  That is why you see in that article that Nestle provided a response that provided historical research, including a photo of the bottling plant from 1909.  They are trying to establish they are first in time, and that the amount they are taking is within what was contemplated to be appropriated.  

[windashine]

Water looks great in pictures, except where Floods are involved.... like the Mississippi River in 1993, or Houston last year... and it's the same water essentially to be treated again, eventually, stored in a pond, piped to Utilities, reused, back down the pipe... humidity and vapor, and rain, again, in a cycle of Hydrogen and peroxide treatments, evaporation, distillation, dilution, pollution, solutions...

[Travis In Austin]

1 hour ago, Dave1290 said:

 This may be in Cali but it's happening all over the US

Water rights are way different in the East (Riparian).

 

Ground water is treated completely differently and it varies state to state.

 

 

[garyrc]

I'd say that no one has the right to deprive another individual of water.  But, If you go out into the middle of Death Valley in August, without carrying any (or even if you go, period), you are probably on your own.  But, if I drove by, and had water with me, I would be obligated to give you some, then drag you out of there.  

[windashine]

[T2K]

It seems to me that men have become more feminine over the past few decades. I attribute that to the pharmaceuticals ingested by drinking tap water.

 

Keith

[Travis In Austin]

1 hour ago, oldtimer said:

Nothing mentions water because back then it was just assumed to be  there.   Life liberty and the pursuit of happiness sums it up.  You cant have any of those without life sustaining water.

 

 

 

Actually,  back then, we drank more alcohol, a lot more.  Water spoils in barrels, beer doesn't.   There was more beer on the Mayflower than water for that reason.  

 

The Puritans were all about drink.

 

The Molasses Act, a tax on non-British (which means French) molasses was imposed on the colonies.  That, along with the Stamp act and Townsend Act led us to declare independence because we are all about life liberty and the pursuit of happiness.   Molasses you see was used by the colonists to make rum.  We were pretty touchy about the cost of rum back then.

 

Up until the 1800s each sailor in the US Navy was given a ration of a half pint of rum, per day.

 

We fought the war, won, all was good, alcohol consumption continued to rise, up to 3X of what it is today. People started with a dram with breakfast and drank throughout the entire day. 

 

Whiskey was used as a form of currency in the early days of our Country.  We loved Whiskey and other spirits so much that the Continental Congress came up with the idea of taxing it to pay the war debt.  Which led to, of course, the Whiskey Rebellion. 

 

Whiskey, Rum, etc. is a fundamental right, per the 21st Amendment, subject to the democratic process of each State.

 

Water, on the other hand, is a property right, derived from English common law (and thus "assumed" as you correctly state), which has evolved into statutory law by each state, and heavily regulated.

 

The biggest blow out over water was between California and Arizona, it started in about '52, SCOTUS issued an opinion in '63 that every law student has to learn about because it deals with Original Jurisdiction of that court (a trial court), and the battle continues to this day.  The Court never held that water was a fundamental right.  https://www.justice.gov/enrd/arizona-v-california

 

Thus, there is more of a fundamental right to alcohol than there to water.  A strong case can be made for a fundamental right to hot sauce however.

 

As it should be.

 

 

[Travis In Austin]

35 minutes ago, garyrc said:

I'd say that no one has the right to deprive another individual of water.  But, If you go out into the middle of Death Valley in August, without carrying any (or even if you go, period), you are probably on your own.  But, if I drove by, and had water with me, I would be obligated to give you some, then drag you out of there.  

Morally yes, but not legally.

[Jeff Matthews]

You need food to live, and there is no fundamental right to food.  "Fundamental rights" are usually cast in the negative - rights with which the government cannot interfere.  There aren't any fundamental rights where the government has to give... that is, unless its giving to others of the same class.  Then, it has to be fair.

[Travis In Austin]

1 hour ago, Dave1290 said:

Me do YOUR research?  hahahaha...  Google and GO!  Grab a double choccy milk and hit it!    I've taken my buddies boys & friends camping all over the US in the past 6 years. Perfect example...  Zion Natl Park?  A case of Dasani was $10.  Sure I get it.  There isnt any water so they can get what they want in stores BUT...  Then the National Parks haul TONS of plastic bottles out of there a year?  We drank FREE potable water refilling our empty bottles.  Sure a lot of it's on people today NOT thinking about tomorrow but Nestle has the nads to SELL water?  A business but....  Seriously?  End of my rant!   

Wal-Mart in St. George is less than half that.

[windashine]

??? when there's a long drought, nobody in that area has as much water as they once had

[Jeff Matthews]

6 minutes ago, dwilawyer said:

Wal-Mart in St. George is less than half that.

St. George looked like a livable town next to paradise.

[jimjimbo]

Fundamental right.....for whom?  Americans?  Chinese?  Africans?  How does anyone "expect" to be granted anything at all, other than, if you think you have enough money to make a case, then you can attempt to influence others who have the commodity....the days of thinking "hey, there's a reservoir not far from here, and we have all the water we need".....are coming to a close.

 

If you are a young person these days, and have a few bucks, throw some of that Starbucks money at water and marijuana stocks.

[Jeff Matthews]

2 minutes ago, jimjimbo said:

Fundamental right.....for whom?  Americans?  Chinese?  Africans?  How does anyone "expect" to be granted anything at all, other than, if you think you have enough money to make a case, then you can attempt to influence others who have the commodity....the days of thinking "hey, there's a reservoir not far from here, and we have all the water we need".....are coming to a close.

 

If you are a young person these days, and have a few bucks, throw some of that Starbucks money at water and marijuana stocks.

We're so spoiled here.  In many other countries, they collect rainwater for household use.  You're all worried that the big companies will buy up the reservoirs, but there will always be rain.  The time for serious concern is when they make collecting rain illegal.  On the other hand, the people who would monopolize the water supply would do so to sell it - not to hoard it.  They will never make it too expensive for people to buy.  (Of course, I realize some consumers have $0, but I imagine Uncle Sam and state-level welfare programs will help those folks with it.)

[wvu80]

2 hours ago, mangofirst said:

Obviously water is fundamental to human existence. 

LOL!  OK, so you're THAT teacher! 

 

The one who goes to teachers meetings and actually listens.  The one, who at the end of the meeting when the prince or sup asks "does anyone else have any questions" when EVERYONE else is ready to get out of there, raises her hand, and asks a question (you can hear the collective groan from the rest of the teachers in the room).

 

Yeah, we'll get that water rights info thing to you right away.  It's pretty important!   

 

/jk

[mungkiman]

4 minutes ago, Jeff Matthews said:

The time for serious concern is when they make collecting rain illegal.

 

Not when it was regulated?

 

[windashine]

. o O (a plumbers dream)

[Travis In Austin]

3 minutes ago, jimjimbo said:

Fundamental right.....for whom?  Americans?  Chinese?  Africans?  How does anyone "expect" to be granted anything at all, other than, if you think you have enough money to make a case, then you can attempt to influence others who have the commodity....the days of thinking "hey, there's a reservoir not far from here, and we have all the water we need".....are coming to a close.

 

If you are a young person these days, and have a few bucks, throw some of that Starbucks money at water and marijuana stocks.

I think it works more this way today.

 

Building codes, and zoning, require running water for residential occupancy. 

 

The rich, i.e., landlords, are not going to all their slums to be without water because.  If a neighborhood has water supply problems, property tax revenues go down, they won't allow that to happen.  The arid South and West have to worry.  Residential water use, including drinking water, is a fraction of the whole.  Food costs and food supply are more impacted by water.

 

 

 

 

[derrickdj1]

To draw water off at certain points or put dams up is not right to deny the down stream folks water.  This is an no brainer and if someone is thinking of a rational point, I bet they will have water.  This country is going to  hell with centered individuals.May Hades's come and  bail us already out of the apparent hell that this nations seems to embrace.

 

Politic's aside, this country is not united and ready to be divided   by another nation! Now ain't that a .........paradox?

[Jeff Matthews]

1 minute ago, derrickdj1 said:

To draw water off at certain points or put dams up is not right to deny the down stream folks water.  This is an no brainer and if someone is thinking of a rational point, I bet they will have water.  This country is going to  hell with centered individuals.May Hades's come and  bail us already out of the apparent hell that this nations seems to embrace.

At the current price, surely you must realize you're in heaven.