Selling clean water is a lucrative business. It is estimated that the global water industry is worth US $400 billion a year, making it second only to the oil industry. The World Bank even projected that the industry will grow to an astounding $1 trillion a year.
Leading this hugely profitable industry are French multinational corporations Vivendi and Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux, which are called “the Exxon and Shell of the water industry”. The other players include British corporations Thames Water, Anglia Water and United Utilities. American companies such as General Electric and Bechtel are also trying to get a piece of the pie. These are all commercial operations whose primary aim is to return profits for the benefit of their shareholders.
When water is treated as a commodity, subject to market forces and the whims of business, the evidence shows that people are forced to pay exorbitant prices for it. In 2000, in the Bolivian city of Cochabamba, water bills went up by 35% or more after water privatisation by a consortium led by International Water Limited. A series of city-wide riots to protest against price hikes (also known as the Cochabamba Water War) led to the city being placed under martial law, so strong was the residents protest. Similarly, in France, Britain and the United States, water rates have soared after water services were privatised. Furthermore, the water industry is usually monopolistic, thus reinforcing or even exacerbating the price problems.
Besides, when tap water is a public resource, consumers have the right to access information on water quality and standards. In the United States, tap water is regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It imposes stringent limits on chemicals and bacteria and government agencies conduct frequent testing on water quality. In the event of any contamination, it is mandatory that the public be notified. But with water privatisation, the public no longer has the right to information about water quality and standards - this can pose a major risk to consumers. In 1998, the water supply in Sydney, Australia, was contaminated with cryptosordium and giardia but the public was not immediately informed about the discovery of the parasites.
How about bottled water? It certainly looks clean and safe. Yet according to a research by the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), in the United States, one-third of 103 brands of bottled water contained traces of arsenic and E. coli.
What’s more surprising is that many bottled waters are actually tap water and not spring water. Both Coke and Pepsi use tap water for their source, while Nestlé uses tap water in some brands. While these companies may cite extensive steps to purify water, including “reverse osmosis” and ozone treatment, there are causes for concern. For example, the process of ozonation can bring about the formation of bromate, a suspected carcinogen. In March 2004, Coca-Cola had to recall about 500,000 bottles of Dasani water in the UK due to bromate contamination.
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