Protect Your Water Rights
Water is one of the foundational elements of life and a resource that you must have access to in abundance if you are going to make your homestead or retreat a viable place of self-sufficiency. While the practical aspects of accessing and storing water are very important (I will cover those in a future blog post), having the legal right to the use of that water is becoming increasingly important. Given the ongoing issues of drought that has been plaguing the western states, the current levels of federal and state regulation, and now the global implications that were just recently released by the United Nations (UN) regarding their “2030 agenda,” keeping the right to use the water on your property is becoming an ever increasing challenge. So, while I typically write blog posts that are more along the lines of “how to,” this one is more of a “heads up.”
In most western states water is a natural resource that is owned and regulated by the state government. So the water that is flowing through the babbling creek and stored below the placid surface of your pond is actually legally not yours, rather it is a resource owned and controlled by the state. The state may grant you a license to use a measured portion of the water that is flowing through and stored on your property, but they may also deny your request, or even shutdown your access to that water. The one common exception is the use of water for domestic purposes (drinking) to provide a low volume (such as from a well) to your home. However, using water for purposes such as irrigation, livestock, ponds and hydroelectric power are typically regulated by the state. It is also becoming more prevalent for the states to defer their regulatory oversight to the federal government, which in the case of water, is typically passed onto the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). While dealing with the EPA is bad enough, it appears that things are about to get even worse. The UN has just released a set of 17 “global goals” that summarize the outwardly stated objectives of “agenda 2030.” Global goal number 6 is to “ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.” A few of the targets that they list in support of this “global goal” include:
- By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all
- By 2030, improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally
- By 2030, substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors and ensure sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater to address water scarcity and substantially reduce the number of people suffering from water scarcity
- By 2030, implement integrated water resources management at all levels, including through transboundary cooperation as appropriate
- By 2020, protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes
- Support and strengthen the participation of local communities in improving water and sanitation management
While on the surface these sound like goals that should be worthy of support from thoughtful and reasonable people, we must look at who is stating and pushing this agenda forward in order to understand the likely intentions and implications that they truly represent. In fact, the terminology used in the list of targets aimed at supporting this global goal (highlighted in bold) make it clear that the intent is to significantly increase the rules and regulations, while also redefining the ownership of our water as an international resource that must be shared with everyone in order to create equality. Stated in plain English, they want to steal our water in order to redistribute it to others, which at its core is nothing more than tyrants forcing socialism on those who wish to live freely.
How they plan to implement these liberty destroying restrictions is not yet clear. However, it seems likely that they will begin by using the current federal and state agencies that already regulate our water to enforce even more restrictive policies. Given that likelihood, securing your water rights now should provide a more solid legal foundation for defending your rights once the more restrictive regulations are enacted. Already possessing a legal right to the use of your water provides a strong position to defend the continued use of that right over someone who is requesting a right to the use of that same water at a later time.
Some folks feel that the best approach is to fly below the radar by not letting the government know that they are using the water without having obtained the water rights. While this tactic may work for some people, I believe that it creates a weaker position from which to defend the use of that water should the government ever become aware of your noncompliant activities. Given the amount of mapping and satellite imagery that is available, there is a good chance that any such noncompliant water use will be discovered at some point in the future. Also, as restrictions and regulations increase, other people will be impacted and may decide that if they can’t have the right to use the water on their property, their neighbors shouldn’t either. As the moral character and overall fabric of our society continues to degrade, the reality that your own neighbors may become a liability will unfortunately continue to increase.
Given that the current US government administration fully supports the UN in its desire to implement the “2030 agenda” in our nation and the world as a whole, we need to position ourselves to defend our right to the access and use of our water. Access to water provides the opportunity to access a life of independence. Loss of access to water equates to a life of dependence and servitude. Given these options, my advice is to secure your independence now by obtaining your water rights and fight to keep them for your children and grandchildren. For assistance obtaining your water rights, contact me here.
