Fact Sheets: Water

Nestlé Waters is determined to build and operate a water bottling plant in the Columbia River Gorge town of Cascade Locks, seeking to bottle and sell essential spring water resources.

Con demasiada frecuencia, cuando un economista o banquero mira los bosques vírgenes o los ríos fluyendo libremente, no ve la naturaleza — ve “capital natural.” Este concepto promueve la idea de que a nuestros recursos naturales se les debe atribuir un valor y que deben administrarse bajo principios basados en el mercado de la oferta [...]

Investment bankers and other major financial players are increasingly interested in taking control of water and sewer services across the United States. Private equity vehicles are armed with more than $100 billion for infrastructure worldwide. Although most deals in the U.S. water utility market have involved existing private sector companies, a number of fund managers anticipate that the ongoing fiscal crisis will drive some governments to privatize their water infrastructure. To make that prediction a reality, major financial interests are backing various government proposals that facilitate privatization and private investment bankers and other major financial players are increasingly interested in taking control of water and sewer services across the United States. Private equity vehicles are armed with more than $100 billion for infrastructure worldwide. Although most deals in the U.S. water utility market have involved existing private sector companies, a number of fund managers anticipate that the ongoing fiscal crisis will drive some governments to privatize their water infrastructure. To make that prediction a reality, major financial interests are backing various government proposals that facilitate privatization and private financing of public infrastructure.

Allentown is considering a risky and potentially very costly ploy to raise money to cover some of its pension liabilities. Mayor Ed Pawlowski has proposed a 50-year lease of the water and sewer systems that he hopes will produce $150 million to $200 million in upfront cash for the city.1 This money, however, is not cheap. Any upfront payment that the city receives is a costly loan that households and local businesses will repay through their water bills for decades. While Allentown’s fiscal difficulties are certainly serious, the city must address the issue directly and avoid budget gimmicks like water privatization that will increase costs for generations of Allentonians.

All too often when an economist or banker looks out at an expanse of virgin forest or free-flowing river, she doesn’t see nature — she sees “natural capital.” This concept promotes the view that our natural resources should be attached a value and managed using market-based principles of supply and demand. It is the cornerstone of the “green economy” that many free-market proponents and market-oriented environmentalists assert will provide environmental sustainability.

The State of California does not require companies to disclose if and where they are fracking, but industry docu- ments reveal that fracking has taken place in the counties of Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo, Solano, Kern, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Monterey, and in the San Francisco Bay Delta, a source of drinking water for over 20 million Californians.

Illinois communities need local, public control of their drinking water and wastewater systems to be able to ensure safe and affordable service.

To protect Maine’s groundwater and the general public’s best interest, Maine should hold its groundwater in the public trust.

The oil and gas industry argues that the potential economic benefits of fracking justify the risks and costs to public health and the environment. But the industry has grossly overestimated the number of jobs that fracking would create, and has either ignored or dismissed the public costs of the practice.