Why "Free" Is the Wrong Price for Water—Even If You Live on $1 a Day

"Free turns out to be exactly the wrong price for water—whether that water is being used by huge global corporations, farmers, ordinary middle-class citizens, or the poorest people living in developing countries. Water that is so cheap provides no incentive for big users—corporations, farmers, even cities—to spend money necessary to better manage their water. [...] And poor people—who have to stand in line for water, or walk to get it from suspect ground-water wells—pay the highest cost for 'free' water of all, sacrificing time, good jobs, and even the educations of their children in order to secure their daily ration of water."