Incentive. Farms and factories require water as an input to fulfil some other purpose. They have no incentive to extract more water than they need for their pro

Incentive. Farms and factories require water as an input to fulfil some other purpose. They have no incentive to extract more water than they need for their processes, increasing the price incentivises them to reduce their consumption. In contrast, a bottled water company's revenue directly correlates with how much water they can extract. Increasing the price does not encourage a reduction in consumption since consumption is tied to revenue. In fact, if margins tighten due to price increases we might expect to see production increase, with the aim of maintaining the rate of profit. Even without being shipped across the world, in most places, bottled water is still hugely wasteful. Multiple facilities, haulage, plastic, stores, and refrigeration to deliver something that is directly piped into almost every building.