Had a little chat with one of my elected ones, this morning.. He asked me if TMRA II or ABATE was aware of the Bills containing amendments to our Conservation and Water Resources.. (not sure about the number of the Bills)..Surprised.. I had to admit that I was not.. During the telephone conversation, I began to recall several years .. Each year, we experience restrictions on water consumption across Texas.. Each year, we've been bombarded with declarations of shortages and we face severe penalties if we abuse those restrictions..Each year, we are told that unless we comply, severe drought conditions will certainly be the result of our actions, therefore we must pay .. The rates for water consumption goes higher and higher.. Our tax dollars are raised to pay for the lines that bring us that water.. We are taxed to pay for the lines that dispense with the water that is used.. Our taxes pay for the reservoirs that store the water and the plants that treat it.. for consumption and waste.. The rates increase steadily and we are constantly warned about the threat of drought.. Water is one of our natural resources..It belongs to us all.. Of course .. payment for the development required to deliver that resource is a given.. we must pay for what we get.. We should get what we pay for.. First of all.. our taxes paid for the development of these projects.. Our monthly bills that we pay, pay for the product.. So far.. so good.. right ? Not quite.. The vast underground aquifer in west Texas has been a staple for agriculture and ranches .. The landowners who own the property above that immense underground natural resource have historically made use of that water.. One of the famous entreprenuers in Texas has quietly been punching into that Aquifer for the past several years.. installing pumps to evacuate the water.. It is his ambition to develop transmission lines to provide water to the populated urban areas in Texas.. Raise any flags yet ? He's also been covertly financing that ambition with some taxpayer money.. With some assistance from elected officials.. and political appointees.. The kicker begins to appear.. some of the landowners are beginning to object to their land being used for this purpose.. What is beneath that land surface belongs to them and has been their own resource for survival .. T.Boone Pickens, faced with this obstacle to his ambitions, has commenced to use his wealth and political clout .. He's asking our lawmakers to set aside eminent domain rights and condemn the land.. which opens it up for his own benefit..Plainly.. he is trying to exploit a natural resource for corporate exploitation, at the expense of every taxpayer in Texas... With every reservoir full beyond capacity .. the managers of those reservoirs releasing millions of gallons of water to relieve pressure on the dams.. what the hell is going on ? I write the check for my water and disposal bill each month.. My tax dollars financed the facilities to treat that water and remove the waste.. Each year . I suffer the same restrictions as everyone else.. The privatization of a natural resource isn't quite my idea of equity, especially considering that the ones who feed us, are paying a steeper price.. Watch your water.. think the fuel prices and energy to light your homes are too high..hang in there.. you ain't seen nothing, yet.. We have been "conditioned" for this to be acceptable to us for several years, now.. Are we "conditioned" enough .. yet ? Your friend in Irving Bill Walker
