Now, I do not get emails from shoe stores, gas stations, advertising agencies — or pretty much any other industry on price changes. Why? Because price changes are normal in those industries.

From that simple observation you can gather what is NOT normal in the water business: price changes. Why? First, because price has never mattered very much. Price was set as a residual decision, after the more important decisions of where to build pipes and plants was made. Second, prices were often set by political processes, and — as most of you know — getting agreement in a political setting is quite the WIN.

So here’s my hope: The price of water rises and falls with scarcity abundance — signaling to people whether water supplies are trending below or above demand. That would be so… normal.

Bottom Line: Prices are the most powerful signal that we have in economics. It’s time to use them with water.