Is Water a Human Right?

Should water be treated as a commodity today when we are faced with many shortages? The flipside of the question is that we are now looking at even the United States recognizing water as a human right and the way I’ve been rephrasing that is that we should have the right to pay for water as a human right. And by that what I mean is that we clearly have to have an accessible water source for all humans and other living forms that is guaranteed in some form.

But when we go beyond that, there should be a way by which we can pay for it because if we can’t pay for it we can’t maintain the resources and the model that we have had where we have a fixed charge or no charge at all has not proved to be sustainable in any sphere whether it is industry, whether it is agriculture or whether it is domestic consumption. So this has to be addressed and I think the issue is not what price should be charged, but a pricing structure that doesn’t lead to volatility, doesn’t lead to unfair use or advantage for different sectors and those are the things that have to be designed for the future.