WARNING: Privatization of Your Water Supply …

See my Blog on Privatized Electricity .. Is Water Next?
A Tale of Two Very Different Cities, With Apology to Dickens

It would be hard to compare Wales, Cochabamba, Bolivia, and Atlanta, Georgia. One is from another century, another is dirt poor, populated by farmers and desperately poor people, and the other is very sophisticated, a metropolis of hugely important companies and associations. But an identical heist took place in all three cities, believe it or not. In a recent blog – I pointed out how our home electricity supply has been recently (2005) hijacked by corporate America (de-regulation) with the predictable huge hike in pricing. You know, average home bill $12-15 monthly before deregulation, and up to $300 after and never less than $100 !)

This, then is a red-letter headsup to any and all in America who could fall prey to this theft, especially those of you either on, or close to, a City Council member. Let’s remind ourselves: water, like electricity, is necessary for human life.


First, let’s look at Wales. Plans for the privatization of the water industry in England and Wales were first advanced by the Thatcher Government in 1984, but were abandoned after a public outcry against it. However, they were resurrected soon after the 1987 General Election, after endless lobbying by Thatcher and her crowd. The Water Act of1988 – a Thatcher gem - transformed the Regional Water Authorities into private companies and sold them off. These new companies became owners of the entire water system and properties of the RWAs. The Act gave them exclusive 25-year concessions for sanitation and water supply, protecting them against any possibility of competition. This created private monopolies. The Government took a number of steps to boost the profitability of these companies in addition. A very generous pricing regimen was established, and the companies were given special exemption from paying taxes on profits!! They had a virtual license to print money, which of course has been exploited to the full. The abuses were so blatant that even the Tory supporting Daily Mail once denounced water privatization as the “greatest act of licensed robbery in our history.”

The most noticeable impact of privatization for the public has been the dramatic increase in prices. Wales, strike one.

For us here in America, IF YOU’RE A CITY COUNCIL member, or know someone who is, you will be the first to know when a heist of your city is in the works. The way they’ve done it in the past is to approach the City council members and point out how expensive it would be for the City to repair and replace all the aging metal water pipes in the city. Then the silver-tongues point out how they can do it so much cheaper than the City can, because they, in the private sector, are so much more efficient than the Public Sector. (Note they don’t ever prove that statement, they just say it.)

That’s exactly what happened in Cochabamba, Bolivia in January of 2000. The private water suppliers never replaced or repaired any of the aging Pipes. Four months of that, and the citizens of Cochabamba had enough, and vigorously protested. Predictably, the protests turned violent, in April 2000, resulting in at least five DEAD, 40 injured or wounded, and widespread arrests, with tear gas. Yeah, tear gas. The Bechtel Corporation of San Francisco was involved in some way, along with Aguas del Tunari.

The Bolivian patriot who spearheaded the protests was one Oscar Olivera. Today, (2008) Oscar Olivera's sister, Marcela, claims bullying tactics were used by the Bolivian government to save the water heist, and describes activists' fears that the government “…will definitely try again to privatize the city's water system. (San Francisco Chronicle, February 11, 2001) Cochabamba, Strike two.

Now let’s consider Atlanta. Atlanta, as you know, is the economic and political powerhouse of the deep South. Atlanta is an old city, dating to well before our 1860s Civil War. It obviously had some aging water pipes and infrastructure, like all cities. When it transferred the management of its municipal water system to the private firm United Water, many Atlantans were taken in by the rhetoric of the private water fast talking salesmen, and thought it a new trend. They were satisfied Atlanta would lead the way for many more privatized water utilities in the U.S. That was January 1, 1999.

No one believes that any more.

United Water is and was the American subsidiary of the Paris-based French corporation Suez. Without boring you with too many details, suffice it to say the salesmen pointed out how Atlanta would save some $20 million dollars per year, etc. The overriding facts that Americans need to know, in the year 2008 and beyond, is that, using the template first perfected by Margaret Thatcher in Britain, once the private water suppliers are in control, they

repair nothing (saving money)
drastically cut personnel numbers (to save money)
greatly raise prices – (to make money)

if you can believe the gall of that ! The records in Wales, Cochabamba and now Atlanta all show this is their m.o.

It was no different in Atlanta than it was in Britain or Cochabamba. Proponents of privatization in that city proclaimed loudly that the water department had been a place where, for years, politicians placed their friends and relatives who needed a job, but who had no experience whatever. Thus the water department became a very costly exercise, and very inefficient to boot.

Soon, tales of brown water running from their faucets were heard, and increased. Then, citizens received advisories from the City to - are you ready for this?- “BOIL TAP WATER before use!” These were examples of the “efficiency of the private sector” that had been so proudly articulated in the runup to the deal.

One council member pointed out how she could turn on the faucet and nothing would happen, sometimes for a couple hours. Nothing. Then when it did work, it looked like dirty creek water; it clogged up the filters in your refrigerator, and there's no warning when you're going to get these discolorations."

Then a fire hydrant sprang a leak during a drought and it took ten days for the water company to fix it, but by then the pavement was beginning to wash away.

Atlanta's city government also got a wakeup call when United Water failed to deliver on promises to save the City money. An audit of United Water's performance ordered by the mayor revealed uncollected bills, demands for even more money from the City, and delayed repairs.

Five major bidders spent millions on public relations campaigns, lobbyists and lawyers courting City politicians. In the end, United Water, owned by Paris-based Suez, won with the lowest bid. All of this is a clear testament to the amount of profit available to a private company if they alone provide people with the most important element of all life – again – the most important element of all life. Happily for all in Atlanta, when the Mayor and several councilpersons made the decision to end the contract, they were able to do it without years of million-dollar lawsuits.

Several diehard republicans wanted the travesty to continue, but were vigorously outvoted. Significant among the council members were statements by two on the Council, Howard Shook and Claire Muller.

Shook said” …My inner conservative no longer worships at the altar of privatization,” and Clare Muller said “…I do think that we got a little carried away with the hype of this thing being the silver bullet that would solve all our problems… we went down the wrong path.” (Frank Koller, CBC Radio Feb. 5, 2003)

Why bring all this up now? As a headsup to anyone on a City Council, or with a friend or relative on a City council, because that’s where they start this theft. They paint a doomful picture of the present state of decay of the city’s aging pipes, always metal, and as such rusting and leaking. They point up the cost to repair, which runs into the millions. Then the private companies say they will not only pay for the repair of the pipes and infrastructure, but will pay millions to the city in addition.

You know the rest.

And – as sure as God made green apples, and metal water pipes, there is always a republican or two on any City council who will vote yes for privatization enthusiastically. But, thanks to swungnotes, you can tell them how to get at the truth. Just look up the story on the water grabs in Wales, Cochabamba and Atlanta. Let’s see, that’s 3 strikes, isn’t it?

by swungnotes