Yes potable water is a public health issue and human right. It is not linked to private property rights and it is not dependent on statutory enactments IMHO. To consider this right to life (liberty and the pursuit of happiness) as tied to private property ownership or dependent on statutory enactments is a red herring.
John, statutory laws are a good source of protection for our natural resources, but really the right to water is not something dependent on the legislative branch. Water comes from the sky after all and the state claims to own it. It is not the responsibility of homeowners to govern each other over the provision of potable water to other humans. It is the responsibility of the government to do that. By being born in this country I submit we have a right to access to a healthy living amount of water for drinking and sanitation. Perhaps the government needs to look into desalination or rain capture? I’m no expert but IMHO it’s not a so much a matter of enacting more laws but the government finding the solution to providing safe water to the people it governs. Contaminating water in a place over which a government entity has jurisdiction over the water is just plain illegal. And what about eminent domain or easements for public utilities? Although I know that government entities have been struggling with how to protect water that comes from places over which they do not have jurisdiction. Trying to have homeowners enforce multiple complex statutory schemes against their neighbors’ use of their property is just going to cause conflict and distraction and will result in failure. It’s a PUBLIC HEALTH issue that is the responsibility of the elected and appointed government employees to solve before the water gets to the consumer. The state is the entity that grants “water rights”. Potable was is not a private homeowner property right.
Again, as with your valuable information, this is not intended as legal advice but a discussion of human rights in general.
Peace and love to you good neighbor and thanks for bringing all this information about our water supply to light!
Thank you Freya! It's a little crazy. We're working with laws written in a different time. Unfortunately, it's all we can do to keep them, let alone improve them.
Thanks Tamra! The workshop's online and once a week, with lots of homework. It will slow me down, but not stop me! I'll put something in notes each week on how it's going
Yes potable water is a public health issue and human right. It is not linked to private property rights and it is not dependent on statutory enactments IMHO. To consider this right to life (liberty and the pursuit of happiness) as tied to private property ownership or dependent on statutory enactments is a red herring.
So true, Beth. We're going to have to rewrite a few laws.
John, statutory laws are a good source of protection for our natural resources, but really the right to water is not something dependent on the legislative branch. Water comes from the sky after all and the state claims to own it. It is not the responsibility of homeowners to govern each other over the provision of potable water to other humans. It is the responsibility of the government to do that. By being born in this country I submit we have a right to access to a healthy living amount of water for drinking and sanitation. Perhaps the government needs to look into desalination or rain capture? I’m no expert but IMHO it’s not a so much a matter of enacting more laws but the government finding the solution to providing safe water to the people it governs. Contaminating water in a place over which a government entity has jurisdiction over the water is just plain illegal. And what about eminent domain or easements for public utilities? Although I know that government entities have been struggling with how to protect water that comes from places over which they do not have jurisdiction. Trying to have homeowners enforce multiple complex statutory schemes against their neighbors’ use of their property is just going to cause conflict and distraction and will result in failure. It’s a PUBLIC HEALTH issue that is the responsibility of the elected and appointed government employees to solve before the water gets to the consumer. The state is the entity that grants “water rights”. Potable was is not a private homeowner property right.
Again, as with your valuable information, this is not intended as legal advice but a discussion of human rights in general.
Peace and love to you good neighbor and thanks for bringing all this information about our water supply to light!
I always learn reading your posts, and I'm grateful for your work in sharing this all with readers. (also that catch-22 indeed--oof).
Thank you Freya! It's a little crazy. We're working with laws written in a different time. Unfortunately, it's all we can do to keep them, let alone improve them.
Thanks Tamra! The workshop's online and once a week, with lots of homework. It will slow me down, but not stop me! I'll put something in notes each week on how it's going