Well, there you have it. The Exeter Town Rulers have officially imposed controls over our use of water. It's interesting how people say this is a "shared resources," yet we are allowed to use it only in pre-approved ways. How dare I wash my car?
A drought is a real thing. Farming is tougher, and crop yields are lower. A water shortage is a government-caused problem. There is no shortage of water at the grocery store because private water production benefits from the price system. Socialized water does not. Socialized water operates under bureaucratic decisions, not market decisions. The prices do not reflect the relative scarcity of water.
If potable water were produced privately, as soon as producers got a whiff of a possible drought, they would have immediately responded. Prices would have risen, and the ensuing profit would have promoted increased water production. The increase in the supply of water would have driven the price back down toward "normal" levels at a higher supply.
