If this goes on, El Paso will run out of water in 20 years and other cities not much later. Texas has been squabbling with its neighbors about the division of the Rio Grande's water. There is talk of new reservoirs, but they may not be ready before El Paso and other cities have gone dry. Since surface water is so scarce, many people want to pump more water from underground aquifers. So Texas is again wondering how to cut demand.
Nobody can stop the state's population growing.
But there are surely ways to limit the amount of water each Texan uses. Water takes up less than 0.8 percent of the average American household budget. In theory, a price increase could achieve two things. It could raise money to help build better pipelines. It could also tame consumption, perhaps by as much as 20 percent in some areas.