The proposed water privatization in New Orleans was predicted to be the largest water contract in the nation when proposed in 2000. With two of big water’s heavy hitters, Vivendi (now Veolia) and Suez, vying to profit from New Orleans’s water, the deal was predicted to secure them $1.5 billion over the next 20 years.

The deal was stopped before it ever began. How do citizens gain enough clout to defeat two corporate giants? They got organized.

A powerful community coalition of 90 organizations, including churches, civic organizations, seniors groups and environmental groups, worked to defeat Vivendi and Suez. The Water for All Campaign, ACORN and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 100 played key roles in building community power.   

Volunteers took the fight out into the open – using car caravans, lawn signs, door-to-door education and rallies. And they organized a local referendum giving voters the power to approve or reject any privatization contract worth more than $5 million.

As if the community support for public control was not enough, one look at the individual track records of both Vivendi and Suez should be enough to get any community to steer clear of water privatization.

At the time, Vivendi was swamped with $16.7 billion in long-term debt with $5.5 billion of that due at the end of the year, hardly the condition you want the corporation in charge of your water to be in.

United Water, Suez’s United States subsidiary, was on its way out of a contract gone awry in Atlanta. The city of Atlanta cited inadequate staffing and untimely repairs resulting in hazardous conditions as indications that the corporation was not near the mark of fulfilling its promises. And United Water’s past actions in Milwaukee and Houston showed that Atlanta was not an isolated incident.  

In Milwaukee, raw sewage entered area waterways after the corporation cut costs, compromising service. In Houston, United Water sued the city after the city did not renew the contract, citing poor service. The city of Houston countersued for the $2 million in needed repairs to the system after United Water failed to maintain it properly.

When voters overwhelmingly approved the popular referendum, the New Orleans Water and Sewerage Board voted to reject privatization in 2002.