I am personally going to ensure that I end up on an Atlantic facing coast with hills to the east to ensure regular rainfall. Galicia, N W France or W Ireland sound pretty affordable to me. And I shall ensure I have access to water (I dowse, so can find my own well thanks).
I'd like to be in a position where caring about other situations will make any difference to them, but I won't be. I don't believe in loner survivalists (see my diary on Transition Towns, but I do believe in focussing my own efforts on the upcoming problems rather than hoping against hope it won't happen. keep to the Fen Causeway
You can't enforce a water pricing if you can't send revenue collectors/police/armed units in to enforce it.
That's the system we've had in the Western US from the start. Water rights were separated from land rights early on and were snapped up by those with the capital to do so, who then held landowners for ransom. The system is enforced by regulators, courts, and law enforcement. Ditch riders patrol the canals (often on horseback) and shut off the water of anyone caught using more than his allotment. I know of cases where stock pond dams have been dynamited because they prevented water from flowing downstream.
