here's a great article by the PLOS editors - it's open access so please pass it on:

http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/inf ... ed.1000102

Jane

Not being a deontologist, I'd say that water is not a human right. It is quite important, though.

Second, the privatization of water—which exploits the view that water is a commodity rather than a public good—does not result in equitable access.

Equitable access is definitely not important. It's important that everyone has enough, but it isn't remotely a zero-sum game, so giving the rich people more doesn't significantly hurt the poor people. It can even help them by creating the infrastructure needed for water.

Also, treating water as a public good results in people taking more than they need, so the people down river don't get any. I know there's a name for that, I just can't find it. That being said, treating it as a private good isn't trivial. You either need to have the government sell water rights or have one guy own the whole river. Alternately, you could have several people own segments of the river and buy water from the guy upstream and sell it to the guy downstream. The first option involves the government, which I don't think tends to be very good at things. The second can result in the creation of a very powerful monopoly if there's only one main river, and gets problematic if there are several interconnecting ones. If there's only one river, the third option could result in people threatening to just drain the river, resulting in it being almost as costly as building an aqueduct. If there are multiple parallel rivers, especially if they branch into each other, this should be less of a problem. Someone (a charity, the government, or possibly a fishing or ecotourism company) would still need to pay for water being drained into the ocean if they don't want to destroy the ecosystem there.

If people can't afford clean water, they should either increase their welfare or work on other ways to decrease poverty. Just giving them water probably isn't a good idea, as it means that someone else decides on how important it is to them. Also, it means that whoever decides how the water systems are built doesn't get much from the water, but very well may get something from lobbyists.

Also, treating water as a public good results in people taking more than they need, so the people down river don't get any. I know there's a name for that, I just can't find it.

Perhaps the tragedy of the commons?

That's the one. Although looking at the page, it looks like it's just the name of an essay.

I don't think the tragedy of the commons will be a problem in most cases. When it isn't, the water in the river can be treated as a public good, but people should still be free to sell the water.

The most cost effective way of promoting access to clean water is the LifeStraw

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/03/health/research/03prof.html

It is a straw which filters water of diseases and toxins. It costs less than 3 dollars per straw, and can last for 3 years of regular use.

It would be great to have similar decentralized, portable technology for desalinization

I woud say that water is a right when we have the resources to provide it as a right. We don't have the resources. We can't give everyone water that needs it. People waste water, and that needs to be taken care of. However, at the rate of consumption we're going at... even at the rate of consumption for good health of the entire population of the world.. we're going to run out of water that we can drink very quickly. More water purification plants need to be created to meet the needs of the people. Until that happens, I can't say that I think it is a right.

Amongst utilitarianists I think we'll all agree water is not a right in itself. But within my limited knowledge on economical matters, I think legislation of that kind could improve significantly the lives of the people who have for now limited access to water. Being water for several people an almost unreachable luxury, the well-being of those people could overcome the nuance of procuring water to them, as long as we're willing to make the effort.