Food & Water Watch and Local Activists Halt Privatization of Milwaukee Water System
Contact: Kate Fried: (202) 683-2500
Food & Water Watch and Local Activists Halt Privatization of Milwaukee Water System
Statement of Food & Water Watch Executive Director
Wenonah Hauter
Washington, D.C. — “On Friday, the Milwaukee, Wisconsin Common Council announced that it will put on hold plans to privatize the city‚ drinking water system. In May, Food & Water Watch worked with a broad range of local groups to form the Keep Public Our Water (KPOW) coalition to stop the privatization. Food & Water Watch applauds the Council‚ decision and urges the City of Milwaukee to permanently abandon this potential privatization.
Faced with budget pressures, Milwaukee had been considering leasing its water utility to a private company for 75 to 99 years in return for a one-time payment of up to $550 million to $600 million dollars. Yet privatizing Milwaukee‚ water is no silver bullet for its budgetary shortfalls and doing so could have negative consequences for its residents. The potential lease is nothing but an expensive loan that would be repaid to the private company that buys the system by Milwaukeeans through water bills, while the company raises rates in order to guarantee its own profits. Studies show that customers of privatized water systems in Wisconsin pay as much as $150 more a month for service than those who receive their water from a public entity. Further, they are also more likely to encounter water quality and service problems. The affordability and integrity of this vital resource should not be compromised in order to compensate for the city‚ financial problems. Doing so would lock Milwaukee into the deal for close to a century, and residents would have very little control over their water system or any problems that might arise from its provider.
Milwaukee’s water utility, which is already well-run and well-maintained, needs to remain public. While the tabling of the lease is an early success for the people of Milwaukee, the fight is not over yet. In April, the city began considering applications for a financial advisor to steward the privatization plan, and it remains unclear if or when that process will resume. Food & Water Watch and KPOW will continue working to demonstrate public opposition to privatizing the city‚ water, and to ensure the continued access of safe, clean, affordable water to all of its residents.”