In this paper, I examine the interrelations between private, common, and public ownership of water resources. To do so, I draw on 18 months of ethnographic research conducted in Norway between 2018-2020, as well as preliminary research that builds the foundation to a new research project on water ownership in Switzerland. In particular, I will be exploring the tensions between water as a common good and its commodification. This is against an energy transition and climate change context, where water, on the one hand, becomes increasingly valuable as a source for renewable energy generation, and on the other hand, constitutes a scarce and precarious resource against the backdrop of global water crises. In this paper I will ask: Who owns water? What are the ethical, ecological and socio-economic responsibilities associate with water ownership and production rights? And how do leaders of industry and policy envision our common water futures?
