Water is one of the essentials of life on Earth. If there is no water, there is no life. Yet despite how obvious that is, we waste it as if it were infinite. In reality, fresh water is scarce and safe drinking water is even scarcer.

Thousands have lived without love, not one without water. (W.H. Auden)

An adult needs about 50 gallons of water per day just for essential needs. But before it reaches you, every drop that comes out of your faucets has traveled a very long way before ending up in miles of pipes that bring it to your home. During this final stage, millions of gallons are lost every day because of leaks and poor network management. On top of that, many regions face severe shortages. That turns this indispensable resource into a real luxury for millions of people. And despite all that, people in wealthy countries keep filling their pools and washing their cars with drinking water, even in areas suffering from drought. It is totally absurd and infuriating!

Desalination of seawater and other industrial processes

We already know fresh water is rare, so let’s dig a little deeper. Most of the water on Earth is salty, which makes it unusable for drinking or farming. Sure, it can be desalinated. But turning seawater into drinking water is very expensive and extremely energy hungry. It is also more polluting than people think because large-scale desalination generates a by-product called brine. To put it simply, it is an ultra-salty sludge that destroys marine life. So let’s forget this bad solution that is anything but ecological.

In the end, the problem is easy to understand: We are wasting the planet’s drinking water faster than it can be renewed. And instead of finding smart ways to protect this precious resource, we keep favoring so-called miracle industrial fixes that only make environmental problems worse.

The water cycle is a fragile balance we must protect

Water does not come out of the tap by magic. It is part of a natural cycle that has been running for billions of years. Rain falls, rivers flow to the sea, water evaporates, clouds form, it rains again and the cycle starts over. Nature put a virtuous system in place that works very well.

Instead of respecting the water cycle, we disrupt it at every step. I am of course talking about climate change, which is driving temperatures higher across the globe. More heat means more evaporation. That leads to extreme rainfall and prolonged droughts in many regions that were not previously affected by these weather patterns.

And let’s not forget pollution! Industrial waste, agricultural runoff and household chemicals all end up contaminating the water we rely on to live. If we want quality water to keep flowing from our taps, we have to work with nature, not against it.

The water market: an economic and ecological absurdity

Let’s be honest, our water distribution system is a disgrace! Instead of favoring local, durable solutions, we built a gigantic centralized network with one goal in mind: turning water into a commodity. All that to deliver chemically treated water billed down to the cent.

And guess what? A huge share of that water never even reaches your faucet. Our aging infrastructure wastes millions of gallons every day. But no one seems to truly care. So taxpayers spend fortunes trying to patch up crumbling pipes while water companies keep hiking their prices. Yet a few decades ago, most people had their own well or access to clean natural springs without paying a single bill for the right to use water. We are told the current system is progress. I have serious doubts.

And since we are talking about organized rip-offs, let’s talk about pollution and profit. The more polluted the water is, the more money water companies make. More chemicals, more filtration, more infrastructure, and it is jackpot time! In the end, their business model keeps you trapped paying for problems they helped create.

The solution is simple: officially declare access to safe drinking water a fundamental human right and recognize it as a common good. As long as it is treated like any old business, people will keep suffering while water sellers find new ways to make you pay even more.

Becoming water self-sufficient is a big step toward freedom

Taking control of your water is taking control of your life. So why stay dependent on a system that overcharges you and damages the environment when you can secure your own supply? It is worth asking, because becoming water self-sufficient brings freedom and peace of mind.

The best part is that it is simpler and far cheaper than you think. Collecting rainwater, digging a well or drilling a borehole are practical options that cost far less than what you pay every year for municipal water. To make it happen, all you need is a solid purification setup that can easily cover your daily needs with minimal maintenance.

Water is not a commodity! Here is a political proposal to end the business of essential resources

Imagine waking up one morning to the news that you now have to pay for the air you breathe. Sounds crazy, right? Think about it a bit more and it is not that far-fetched. You already pay for running water that barely meets acceptable quality standards. So while we are in this odious logic, why not charge you for air decontamination services too? I will not say it too loudly, because that might give ideas to companies dreaming of making the public pay for resources that should be free.

Let’s close that parenthesis for now and get back to the main point. Access to high-quality drinking water must be a fundamental right, not a privilege for those who can afford it. We pay bills for something that literally falls from the sky for free. And worse still, millions of people around the world do not even have that luxury because they simply do not have running water. All because cynical capitalists decided water should have a price. If that kind of manipulation does not make you angry, what will?

While we wait for everyone to wake up, here is a radical idea that should not be radical at all: The water essential for daily life should be 100% free and everything else should be paid. For example, water for drinking, cooking and basic hygiene should be free. Filling a pool or watering a golf course is pure luxury. And as everyone knows, luxury should be expensive. Otherwise it is not luxury. This is not communism or socialism or any other label some people love to slap on things. It is simply making sure no one has to choose between drinking water or paying rent while others waste thousands of gallons of drinking water just to wash their car every weekend.

Let’s be clear. The goal is not to tax for the sake of taxing. No! The goal is to hold heavy users accountable. When water is free for what is essential and costly for what is not, people start using it wisely. In the end, it really is that simple to demand that politicians stop putting profits before people. If we do nothing, guess what? Those in power will keep finding new ways to sell us what should belong to all of us.

Industrial agriculture is draining water in irresponsible ways

Industrial farming swallows staggering amounts of water to grow monocultures that exhaust soils and need ever more irrigation year after year. Instead of adapting to natural cycles, it leans on inefficient irrigation systems that dry up rivers, lakes and aquifers at an alarming pace. The result is bleak. Small, responsible farms struggle to survive while agribusiness keeps pumping as if there were no consequences. This sector rakes in hefty profits and leaves behind depleted land and farmers locked into bad solutions that make problems worse.

We keep tolerating the wrecking of our planet in the name of sacred profit that must never be questioned. Yet right next to this destructive model, there are many virtuous solutions. For example, permaculture can drastically reduce water use and keep soils alive without any chemicals. The agriculture of tomorrow must stop being a water and pesticide guzzler and make room for farmers who finally respect nature.

The scandal of access to safe drinking water

Let’s set the record straight and call out the real culprits. How is it possible that in a world where billionaires fly into space and tech companies rake in obscene profits, families still have to walk miles every day to fetch dirty water that can kill them? Do not think this is just a faraway problem you see in charity ads for work in disadvantaged countries. It happens everywhere and it is a disgrace to humanity!

Take the widely covered case of Flint, Michigan. Remember it well! In the heart of one of the richest countries on Earth, people were knowingly poisoned by lead-contaminated municipal water. Children got very sick and lives were destroyed. Why? Because politicians and companies wanted to save money on maintenance and put more dollars in their pockets. And guess what? Flint is not an isolated case. All over the so-called “developed” world, pipes are rotting and pollutant levels are climbing. In the end, the water you trust ends up poisoning you day after day.

Meanwhile, bottled water companies get richer by selling to the privileged what should flow freely from our taps. Let’s be honest: This is far more than a simple problem, it is a massive scandal! Nothing will change unless we demand it. So are you ready to stand up and defend the idea that water is not a commodity? If you do not, who will?

Conclusion become water self-sufficient instead of waiting for the deluge

Becoming water self-sufficient is not some distant dream. It is something you can start today. The solutions are out there. If this path interests you, we are here to help with practical guides and technical advice. If you have questions or want to share your experience, use the comments section at the bottom of this page or come talk about it on the forum.

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