[CN7R]

That sounds like some Garrett Hardin argument -- privatization will not solve the water shortage issue. It would simply allow large industrial farms, which typically pollute local water sources through fertilization runoff, to buy up the water supply under an auction based system. What the government needs to do is adopt policies that enforce water conservation and remove obsolete laws, such as one that promotes farms to use up the amount of water allotted to them to receive the same share next season.