Water--necessity or luxury?

So. I study international affairs (more or less). A very large part of the study of international affairs is the act of distinguishing between human right and private property. Under heavy dispute: pharmaceutical license, shelter, R2P (right to protection), and water. That's right, water.

That stuff that flows freely from your tap. The sometimes murky/textured liquid that we throw into our Brita filters. The stuff that we are told to drink at least 8 times per day....

Who would think twice?

Water is a basic necessity to survive. A human can't last for long without a drop of water. That's just biology. But then you put a price on it, and all bets are off. I readily admit that I have no knowledge on domestic affairs. International, I am educated enough to have an opinion on most matters...but domestic? Y'all trump me on that one. But there is a difference between ignorance and not researching--I am happy to say that I am not an ignorant person. I noticed when my grandmother was told to sell her water rights and install a water meter. I noticed when my parents screamed over exorbitant water bills. I noticed when neighborhoods were given watering days for lawns. I noticed when a neighbor's water was flowing down the street....So I have noticed that water is not a little issue.

In the Global South, access to water is a luxury. When a tap is available, there are thousands of residents who use it. When a tap is unavailable, populations of people drink from unsanitary water sources--the same sources they place their laundry, waste, and excrement. A high percentage of the world's population is dying from water borne diseases and infections--easily preventable through access to clean water and a bit of education. Today, hundreds of NGOs are working with water and sanitation, trying their darndest to provide access to a clean and reliable source to life's basic necessity.

Then you have the towns that don't own their water rights. Cochabamba in Bolivia auctioned off water rights to Aguas del Tunari. Long story short, the residents were unable to afford water and were prevented from accessing it. My question is: who has the right to prevent another human being from accessing water? Did you make the water? Did you make water a necessity to sustain life? No. No. NO! Sure, you purchased the right to distribute the water, but you can not purchase the water. Water is from nature and when the residents of Cochabamba exclaim that you are "Leasing the Rain," they are 100% correct.

Watch the video. It will make you cringe.

But this is the developing world. They are developing. This is what's supposed to happen. In America, we so don't have that problem. We're, like, totally developed.

Ha.

As the NYC Water Council announces a 14.5% hike in water prices...in comparison, these prices (per month!) are a year's salary to the majority of the world's population. I mean, shoot. The prices per month are my monthly paycheck. Rent has already gone up to an unreasonable extent, electricity is both unreliable and expensive, and now water? I think we humans are being priced out of the world.

So. Human right? Or Private Property?