Missoula Wins Right to Own Its Water Supply

In a major victory for the commons, the Montana Supreme Court, by a 5-2 decision, has upheld Missoula’s right to buy its water system from a private company, Nadia Prupis reports in Common Dreams. @commondreams

“The city desired to own the water system that serves its residents because city officials believe a community’s water system is a public asset best owned and operated by the public,” the judges decided. A jubilant Mayor John Engen declared, “Long after people have forgotten any of our names, they won’t have to worry about who owns their water.”

Facebooktwitterredditmail
Avatar photo
Follow David Morris:
David Morris

David Morris is co-founder of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and currently ILSR's distinguished fellow. His five non-fiction books range from an analysis of Chilean development to the future of electric power to the transformation of cities and neighborhoods.  For 14 years he was a regular columnist for the Saint Paul Pioneer Press. His essays on public policy have appeared in the New York TimesWall Street Journal, Washington PostSalonAlternetCommon Dreams, and the Huffington Post.