Because of this.
See, I read that story different from you. The way I see it, everyone wanted the status quo there in California (ie. the farmers paid little or nothing for their water). I think the current syetem here where the price of water has absolutely no relation to the cost of gathering and distributing it is very, very flawed.
Denis Prosperi: I’m a capitalist in the truest sense. I farm almonds and wine grapes which are two of the commodities that have no subsidies. We have booms and we have busts. We’re just coming out of one of the worst busts that the grape business has seen in 50 years. The almond business is booming. Five years ago it was down. I believe in free enterprise. But I also believe that if the price of almonds goes to $2.50 a pound, it’s not catastrophic if people who can’t afford them don’t want to eat them. If the price of wine goes up a dollar a bottle, it’s not going to make much difference to the world economy. But when you’re talking about water, you’re talking about the lifeblood of life itself.
For Chris Wasden, his time at Azurix taught him that the water business is not a good investment.
Chris Wasden: I had an executive approach me the other day that said that he had the backing from a very wealthy family in New York…that had just read a World Bank report on the situation of the water industry globally. And talked about what will happen by 2015 what needs to happen with regards to water. Because we have this looming crisis of water. And he says you know these people they’re really smart investors and they see this and think water’s the place to be. Well you’ve worked for a big water company you’ve looked at this stuff all over the world and what do you think? I said I wouldn’t touch it. Nobody wants to let anybody make money on water.
See, we let folks make money on everyhting else in this world, but some how we hold water sacred. It's illogical.