Putting a Cap on Our Water Rights
Freshwater is central to the survival of all species and many natural processes on Earth. Many countries around the world are currently facing a water crisis which is in part due to increasing urbanization and the subsequent increase in agriculture. Freshwater is a fundamental human right that should be shared equally across all nations and peoples. Globally, many countries and states have sold this public utility to major corporations and in doing so, put a cap on our water rights. Aside from commodifying an essential human right, past and current examples of water privatization are proving to impact other aspects of society including social and economic instability, creating major economic gaps in communities.
by Simona Hamilton
The water cycle sustains all life on earth and balances the global climate. Of this water, only 2.5% is freshwater, the majority of which is held in glaciers and ice sheets or stored as groundwater.¹ This leaves all the flora and fauna on land (including the entire human population) to rely on the mere 0.77% of freshwater that is actually accessible.¹ Earth’s water cycle is highly complex and manipulating it severely impacts local and global changes in climate, causing floods, drought and unpredictable weather patterns, all of which impact the human need for water. For example, dam-water storage inhibits groundwater storage for plant uptake. Deforestation means trees can no-longer transpire water vapor into the atmosphere, and irrigation removes water from its natural source and creates runoff - resulting in water pollution elsewhere due to the use of fertilizers.³ Biodiversity loss, river damming, and increased extraction of groundwater are all a result of population growth and the increased need for water in irrigation, hydropower, urbanization and many other facets of human life.⁴,⁵ An estimated 70% of water-usage globally is consumed solely in agricultural irrigation.⁴,⁵ This vicious cycle of dwindling water supplies, biodiversity loss, and climate destabilization is only hastening. Currently, a total of 2 billion people around the world do not have access to drinking water while 3.6 billion - 46% of the world’s population - lack safe sanitation.⁶
The use and efficiency of how water is consumed, is ultimately determined by the people we place in power (government parties) and who they distribute this power to (the private sector). Privatized water is typically managed by for-profit companies.⁷ This can lead to social and environmental problems because making a profit in the short-term can come before long-term human and ecological well-being.
How Did Water Become a Product?
Deforestation associated with primary industries such as farming and mining has fuelled local and global economies for centuries.⁴ Unfortunately, the pace of deforestation increased significantly in the 1980’s with the privatization and globalization of much of the mining and agriculture in the Developing World.⁹,¹⁰ This has only continued increasing because of land-grabbing. Land-grabbing refers to the buying or the leasing of land to multinational corporations or foreign governments, often with the intention of increasing agricultural business.³² There are many factors that influenced the move away from local control to domestic or international corporate control. The principal one being a belief in economic prosperity as a result of increased efficiency and management.¹³However, this transfer of control is often from marginalized communities to powerful corporations.³³
As land-grabbing results in the control of land and its resources including water, water-grabbing is also a very present threat for small scale farmers and local communities.³³ Water-grabbing has created major water conflicts in regions of Africa and South America. In Alto Cauca, Colombia, water conflict between marginalized communities and the elites led to violent and hostile paramilitary action, resulting in the loss of land rights for the Afro-descendent community.³⁴ In Mali, to encourage investment from multinational corporations, small-scale farmer’s water fees were increased by more than 10 times.³⁵ Private investment in agriculture clearly impacts small-scale farmers and local communities whose access to water can be dramatically reduced if not completely appropriated. This can destroy livelihoods and create dramatic water scarcity as water is relocated to where multinational corporations most desire it. And so, water privatization remains a contentious issue.
The idea of privatizing natural resources such as water is central to neo-liberal ideology. This is a political ideology which puts a market value on items and commodities, discounting other measures of worth such as social, environmental, cultural, historical or aesthetic values. It seeks to limit government interference in the ‘free market’, allowing corporations to do as they please, ie. allowing monopolization. Aside from the privatization of water, many past examples of privatization including traditional public services have resulted in worsening socio-economic conditions such as job loss, decreased income distribution and an increase in overall poverty.²¹,²² When it comes to water, the ‘neoliberal’ or ‘corporate’ belief is that water is indeed a commodity that can be traded privately, just like any other product. And while the cost of water is heavily negotiated, the impact to the surrounding environment is rarely considered. As an example, the state of California accommodates 108 bottled water plants and yet there is no overseeing of total water removal nor is the impact to ecosystems managed.³⁷
In North America, private ownership of water has resulted in water scarcity across complete municipalities. BlueTriton Brands, formerly owned by Nestle Waters Inc, boasts 8 major water bottling brands including Arrowhead and Ice Mountain. In 2015, during the worst drought in California’s history, thousands of signatures fuelled a campaign to stop Nestle (now BlueTriton Brands) from pumping millions of gallons a year from the San Bernadino National Forest, using a permit that had expired in 1988.³⁷ An investigation which accompanied the protests resulted in BlueTriton Brands being asked to immediately cease all forms of illegal siphoning from Strawberry Canyon.³⁸ New permits were made clearly outlining limits to water use. Throughout the investigation however, cabin owners also with expired permits for the forest were forced to stop consuming the water and install water tanks at their own expense. Meanwhile, Nestle continued to - in just one day - siphon more water than all the cabins combined over a whole year.³⁷ Even as the lawsuit pursued, during 2018-2020 BlueTriton Brands extracted 173 million gallons of water illegally, spinning a hefty profit as restrictions fell on the public.³⁹
And it goes beyond US state matters. Ever-increasing population growth and urbanization is aiding to major water scarcity globally. 17 countries are currently facing ‘extremely high’ water stress and on average are consuming more than 80% of their reserves, leaving them susceptible to changes in climate such as intense drought.³⁶ Overdrawn water reserves globally are creating economic stress and political conflict, only becoming more severe and more frequent as whole cities are forced to ration their water consumption.
Water Privatization in High-Income Countries
People living in wealthier countries are not invulnerable to water privatization. In 1989, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher sold 100% of both England and Wales’ water and wastewater utilities to private ownership. Since privatization, the cost of water for households has increased by 40% in real terms (inflation being factored in).¹⁴ And, perhaps unsurprisingly, while water prices have risen, so have water company profits. Since England's nine water companies were established, £72 billion in dividends has been distributed between their shareholders. At the same time, £56 billion of water debt has accumulated collectively.¹⁶,¹⁴ Only a half of shareholders profits have been directed to infrastructure maintenance and development from 1991-2019.¹⁷ This is evident through a history of water pipe breaks and faulty wastewater infrastructure resulting in river contamination. From 2017-2019, an immense three billion litres of water leaked through faulty pipes every single day across England and Wales.¹⁸,¹⁹ Now, over 30 years later, the call for public ownership of water and wastewater utilities is being heard by not only the general public but also from campaigners, unions, the Green Party, and even members of parliament.¹⁶ Chief Executive of the Environment Agency, Sir James Bevan, even labeled water companies “polluters” who “need to obey the law, stop polluting, and pay the full cost of cleaning up any damage they do”.²⁰
Water Privatization in Developing Nations
In Chile, the results of privatization have been extreme. In 1981, General Pinochet’s military regime enacted a water code that removed government control and completely privatized water across the entire country.²³ While this generated some economic benefits, they came at a terrible cost. The ability to buy and sell water rights certainly encouraged higher-value uses of water which did drive a degree of economic prosperity.²⁴ Yet, the water code also resulted in dramatic water insecurity for the poorer parts of the country - with up to 90% of water being directed toward agriculture, hydropower and mining.²⁵,²⁶ Water grants were permitted by the government without any limitation on usage which resulted in environmental degradation and social instability. Aculeo Lagoon was once one of Chile’s largest freshwater bodies and offered water for drinking and small-scale agriculture. It now lies empty due to the siphoning of its water, in combination with the country’s most severe drought.⁴⁵ Local residents who found themselves suddenly displaced, relocated to the capital, Santiago, in order to find work after their livelihoods as farmers disappeared.⁴⁶ In other regions such as Petorca, access to freshwater and sanitization was only available from uncertified tanker trucks, giving some children diarrhea.²⁷
The privatization of water in Chile has allowed large corporations to exploit water sources, completely ignoring the needs of small-scale farmers, fundamental human rights, and the preservation of ecosystems. Over the last 15-years, a persistent drought has left over half the country in an official state of water emergency.²⁸ And yet, in 2019, one avocado tree was supplied more freshwater per day compared to what one human being had access to in Petorca, Chile.²⁷ Mass protests across the country at the end of 2019 heard the slogan ‘it's not drought, its theft’ frequently being repeated. Millions protesting resulted in the eventual amendment of the water code which was finally released last September.²³ The amended water code now includes reference to water as an essential human right, defensible by the State in contradiction to any water license, amongst a number of other positive developments including recognition of Indigenous rights and the needs of natural ecosystems.²³ While the concept of privatization seems at first good natured and economically well intended, if not implemented well, the needs of people and the environment can be overlooked.
Manufactured Demand
In more recent years, the bottling of public water by large (private) multinationals has also increased significantly. Companies selling bottled water advertise their products as ‘safer’ or ‘healthier’ than the free water running from your tap. This is called ‘manufactured demand’ – a marketing scheme that companies including private water companies will use to try and sell their product. The concept is to make people believe that their product is more desirable or safer than the other alternative. In this case, making people believe the water from their tap is unsafe to drink. Aside from crisis events or in regions with poor water quality, this is often untrue.⁵¹
Through excellent marketing skills, bottled water companies create the impression that their water is exclusively bottled in remote freshwater springs, often boasting picturesque, ice-capped mountains. Globally, regulations do apply for the use of specific labels such as ‘natural spring water’. Across Europe and the UK, ‘spring water’ must be derived from a natural spring or bore hole, and doesn’t require any treatments nor do the properties within the water have to stay the same or remain stable.²⁹ ‘Spring water’ and ‘bottled water’ products across the UK and Europe do not require water composition labeling and no official recognition from local authority is necessary before production and marketing.²⁹ The same is true in America where companies only voluntarily provide consumers with product information.³⁰ Although bottled water is defined as water for human consumption with no added ingredients, inclusion of antimicrobial agents and fluoride are exempt from this definition.³¹ The chance of buying bottled water that hasn’t gone through stages of water purification or has even been bottled directly from the same source as your tap is highly probable.
Within the last decade, bottled water has become one of the leading products in the beverage market. Mexico is the leading consumer of bottled water³⁹ which comes as no surprise as during last summer, Mexico’s water crisis escalated and cities hit day zero (the day when taps run dry). Civilians were forced to buy bottled water from Coca-Cola or collect unsanitary water supplies from trucks. The impact privatizing water can have on humanity is formidable and frankly overwhelming. Allowing corporations to take control of a natural resource that is fundamental to human survival should be a choice we make as communities, not the final choice governments are left with due to budget cuts. So, as consumers - unrelated to crisis situations - it’s our choice to support these private corporations in their endeavor to regulate and control our access to what is and always will be, an essential human right. Our encouragement also negatively impacts our environment. Over eight million tonnes of plastic end up in the ocean every year, causing the ingestion of plastic bioaccumulates (toxic chemicals), resulting in impaired development (and diseases) in marine wildlife which accumulates up the food chain to the human level.⁴²,⁴³
Taking Control
One of the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals is clean water and sanitisation. This goal won’t be attainable without communities and governments working together to overcome the current water crisis. Thankfully, an act of change has already begun in many parts of the world.
Known as the ‘Waterman of India’, Dr Rajendra Singh has aided in the construction of 11,800 water structures and has revived 12 rivers throughout India. His work over the last several decades has allowed over 1,200 villages to be water secure.⁴⁷
On the edge of the Sahara Desert in Morocco, a fog-harvesting project installed by the non-for-profit organization, Dar Si Hmad, has created safe drinking water for more than 500 residents across 13 villages.⁴⁸ The region was water deprived for years before this simple and yet so successful net structure was installed in the mountains. Water droplets from fog are captured and drained into a filtration system that sends water directly to households.⁴⁹
In Korea, 90% of water (known as ‘invisible water’) is concentrated in plants, soil moisture, and in the atmosphere. Cities are increasing their amount of invisible water by reducing hard surface areas and replacing them with plant landscapes i.e. on roofs. ‘Urban greening’ creates a short water cycle and simultaneously reduces flooding as water runoff is slowed by soil uptake. A green city also increases heat absorption, ultimately cooling the local climate.⁵⁰
It's easy to blame government bodies and private corporations for the mismanagement of our water but we too play a role in the use of water. Perhaps as a consumer that puts a bit of effort on us to carry a reusable water bottle throughout the day and refill at a public tap. We shouldn’t allow bottled water companies to make profits of $343 million a year while only paying a $200 permit to bottle water that is rightfully ours. It also means being conscious of the amount of water we use as individuals. How can we contribute to our local communities' water retention? Can rain be harvested in the backyard with a water tank? Or perhaps a raised garden-bed could be set up on the apartment building rooftop. Locally-driven projects might just be the future of our drinking water, rather than relying on multi-billion-dollar corporations who bottle water from rivers and profit from our very essential, human right to freshwater.
June 9 2023
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