Eventually corporations will realize there is a lot of money in water and may develop cheaper ways to desalinate salt water or simply purify wastewater.

It’s the transfer of so much water from public hands to private ones. “Water has been a public resource under public domain for more than 2,000 years,” says James Olson, an attorney who specializes in water rights. “Ceding it to private entities feels both morally wrong and dangerous.”

Everyone agrees that we are in the midst of a global freshwater crisis. Around the world, rivers, lakes, and aquifers are dwindling faster than Mother Nature can possibly replenish them; industrial and household chemicals are rapidly polluting what’s left.

doesn't Africa have like huge underground basins? yet no one will drill them http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-17775211