Peer2Politics

The water Commons in Thessaloniki, Greece’s second largest city, are under threat (an older post about here). Needless to say that in time of crisis such an enclosure of a common good is a common practice. A recent text by Theodoros Karyotis, a member of the Initiative 136 for social control of Thessaloniki’s water services, gives a thought-provoking summary of the current situation, the social movements and some recent related developments:

As thousands of water specialists gather in Stockholm for World Water Week, there will be a lot of discussions around technical and efficient delivery of water but too few conversations on the nature of water as a public and democratic good.

Farmers in the small town of Hoxie, Kansas, have been pumping water out of the Ogallala Aquifer six times faster than rain can naturally recharge it.  This is a big deal because most of the town depends upon the flow of water to grow corn, which is the mainstay of the local economy.  But here’s the remarkable thing:  In order to preserve the water at sustainable levels, the farmers have agreed among themselves to cut back on their use of the water by 20 percent for five years.