It's The Same Stuff

Water is important.  Water is critical.  Water is cheap - - to the point the pricing would indicate it has no or limited economic value.  A carrot farmer in the Imperial Valley can get about 30,000 pounds of carrots from one acre of land.  These carrots will need about $114 worth of water to grow.  When I go into my local Kroger's grocery store, the three-pound bag of carrots from California required 217 gallons of water to grow - - and it cost the farmer one penny. 

Our disconnect between water and economic value is not just limited to carrot farms.  Even though it has the same atomic structure, water is weirdly priced.  Consider the following:

• The average home in the U.S. pays $3.24 for 1,000 gallons of water.
• The average home in Las Vegas pays $2.71 for 1,000 gallons of water. 
• A farmer in the Imperial Valley pays $0.06 for 1,000 gallons of water.