Texas Town is Running Out of Water!

…and it’s a problem that may spread.The combination of nearby fracking operations sucking underground water away from the local residents, and climate changes causing drought.

Here’s a video that lays out the issue facing the small town of Mertzon Texas. Water is a scarce natural resource and in this town there is a conflict between companies who use water to extract oil and natural gas out of the ground and homeowners who need it for drinking, bathing, and washing.

There clearly needs to be an open discussion among all parties about the priorities of the stakeholders. Clearly one stakeholder group cannot take all of the natural resource just because it makes them rich. On the other hand, the other group needs to be open to some compromise.

In this case, it looks like the local government is taking a ‘hands off’ position. Makes you wonder why.

Water is just too precious and scarce for local authorities to bury their heads in the sand.

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