Privatizing Water Supply: 3 Cartels Rule

Fix: Water Shortages, Distribution, Recycling

Privatizing water supplies is a controversial subject warranting considerable debate, but what most do agree upon is the need to address the reality that fresh water is not available to many people and exponential population growth and global warming will only worsen the situation.

Water Usage to Triple in 40 Years

"Over the next four decades, water use is expected to triple as the world's population grows by a predicted 3 billion people to 9.5 billion. At the same time, global warming appears to be speeding up the hydrologic cycle, making wet areas wetter, and dry areas drier. By 2030, nearly half of the world's population will inhabit areas of severe water stress" ('Is the privatization of water the right thing to do?' Maclean's 03/09/2009).

Water Cartels: Vivendi, Suez, Thames Water

In 1999 Bolivia privatized its water supply. The Water is Ours, Damn It!, Out!, Flow: For the Love of Water and Thirst are documentaries that showcase the issue and the resulting riots that condemned the Bolivian government for its mistake. Some feel the current state-run system in Bolivia is more wasteful and more discriminatory against the poor than any corporate water supplier would ever be.

State or private water cartels have a monopoly on that which is essential for life. The private water industry consists of only 3 corporations: "Vivendi and Suez, both of France, and Thames Water of England, owned by the German conglomerate RWE…Just a dozen years ago, they operated private water utilities in 12 countries. They now provide drinking water for profit in 56 countries" ('The Water Barons' CBC 03/02/2003).

By contrast, food comes from the private sector, but, we are deluged with a wealth of market choices. Should we not be able to likewise choose from a range of competing water utilities and suppliers?

A shortage of potable water and its affordable distribution requires energy as does desalination and other methods of harvesting or reclaiming water. The recycling motto of "reduce, re-use, recycle," can save water so people need to buy less of it. Bottled (or otherwise packaged) water leaves a huge ecological footprint in terms of both the manufacture and disposal of the packaging.

Citizens must take part in discussions on water use at the local, regional, national and international level in order to address these concerns.