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No private water plant
This is a response to the editorial, “With proper precautions, private desalination plant could be a better option” (Aug. 22).
Supporters of the U.S. Desalination-IDE Technologies project insist privatization will “get government out of the way.” But trusting a private corporation — especially one backed by distant shareholders — with the Valley’s future water supply is like Aesop’s fable of the Scorpion and the Frog. The scorpion begs for a ride across the river, promising not to sting. Halfway across, it strikes anyway. When the drowning frog asks why, the scorpion replies: “It’s in my nature.”
That is the nature of today’s corporate model: profit first, consequences later. Shareholders aren’t accountable to Valley families, farmers or colonias. Their loyalty is to quarterly earnings, not public welfare.
We’ve already seen this at Boca Chica. SpaceX and Elon Musk promised jobs and innovation, yet the community gets repeated disruptions and pollution: sonic booms, explosions, scorched habitat, beach closures and a regulatory cat‑and‑mouse game. When profit is the motive, public safety becomes optional.
Texas workers know this pattern too well. The legislature eliminated local water‑break ordinances even after workers collapsed in extreme heat — all to satisfy business interests. Deregulation didn’t make Texas stronger; it made workers disposable.
Water is more essential than rockets or corporate models. Once a private operator controls the tap, the Valley becomes the frog mid‑river.
Government regulation isn’t the problem. It’s the protection Texans keep losing.
Diane Teter
Edinburg
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