He knows that. That's why he's fine if someone were to shut off the water supply to his city. Simply shutting off access to something necessary for survival is totally different from killing someone! /s
Huge portions of the United States do in fact have a very similar relationship with their water companies, because their water companies are given water rights by the relevant state governments.
I think if someone decided to save money by shutting off water to Phoenix or Los Angeles, they will have some portion of the relevant blood on their hands. That's especially true if they did so with zero effort toward a smooth transition.
There isn’t any other way to look at it.