Developer Nannies

UNM economics professor opines in the Albuquerque Journal that the developers shouldn't have to provide water conservation measures on new houses they sell.  The economist says, call off the water nannies.  Let the free market decide.

Adding special gutters and rain barrels to new homes should be decided between homebuilders and their clients in the free market. The authority can be helpful by putting hydrologic and economic information on their web site.

Now that you've provided the water, go away and be helpful - hand out these pamphlets. 

Having to squint my eyes in order to see free market principles at work in the building process.   Providing dedicated streams of public tax revenue for TIDD's to pay the developer's  infrastructure costs puts new construction firmly outside of the free market.  So do the other public projects  that boost developers' profits.  Professor says,

Let the price of water— reflecting all production costs, including the cost of the new conversion dam and the rental cost of water rights— guide users on how much water to consume.     People do not need water nannies, they can decide for themselves how to conserve toilet water and if and when to replace their lawns by desert shrubs and invest in rain barrels.

People don't need nannies but apparently the developers do.   

Comments

[suz]

I have a number for the crisis hotline for outdated economists who still believe in the free market. It's 1-800-LUV-BUTT. Oops! That's the Valentine’s Day number or maybe the recently defrocked. I'll post the number when I find it.

[Hunter]

Does rainwater capture constitute an appropriation of surface water? Do you need a permit from the State Engineer? What is the cumulative downstream effect? Given the complexity of New Mexico water law, I can't believe changing the use dynamic can be this simple.