In many places, underground water is considered the property of the owner of the land where the water is extracted, even when a well’s user is tapping an aquifer that spreads across thousands of square miles. As a result, there is little incentive to conserve.
挑战十分艰巨。在许多地区，地下水被视为属于采水地土地拥有者的产权，尽管水井用户是在绵亘数千平方英里的含水层上打水。结果是人们几乎没有动力保护地下水。与此同时，大量钻井降低了整个含水层，可能导致盐水入侵。此外，由于这一安排与产权挂钩，只有最勇敢的政客才敢于解决它。