I would not be surprised at water rationing. I stated that I have seen worse droughts in the last 30 years but we also did not have as great a population then. With the growth of major cities and bureaucracy, I imagine we'll see rationing. My thought is we'd see it even if we didn't truly need it because control of water is crucial in dry states like ours.
On a side note I will relate something my younger daughter has been telling me for a couple of years. I don't have links to data about this but I'm sure someone here would know how to find them.
Daughter works as a "land man" in oil and gas leases. She leases and negotiates mineral rights for oil or gas speculators and drillers. She's a smart young lady as she is one of the few that still has a job as a landman in north Texas right now. She began telling me a couple of years ago that the big oil companies are not as much interested in buying long term leases on oil and gas rights as they are for water rights. She tells me that a lot of west Texas water rights have been signed sealed and delivered over to oil companies for the next 100 years.
so. the oil companies have our ground water tied up. everyone on this thread is bright enough to see the implications of this.
That the oil companies are buying water rights is not a surprise.
People are buying them all over the world.
In the west, they are often sold and i get scared when the towns sell them to others.
Ours sold off our rights to the Colorado river water allotment.
All our water comes from wells, and the water table is now 2,000 foot deep.
Along Hwy 95 at Wickiup, about 40 years ago, the hay farmers sold theirs to the big mine below Yarnell.
And so it goes, follow the money and you will know what fool sold them.
In Oregon and Utah, you can buy land and not get the water rights, or that is how it was 40 years ago, the water could be sold separately.
It is the same with mining rights, they are owned by the gov. the railroads and miners, but not by the average homeowner.
We will pay the price one of these days.