Costly Returns

2008-08-18

Full Report -How Corporations Could Profit from Inflating the Already High Cost of Repairing the Nation’s Crumbling Water and Sewer Infrastructure

Aqua America

2008-10-14

Full Report - Aqua America is the second largest publicly traded water and wastewater corporation based in the United States. It has pushed its way to the top through a strategy of aggressive acquisitions and drastic rate increases. Aiming to make several dozen acquisitions a year, the company targets smaller systems to avoid a citizenry armed with resources to fight the takeover. And it pursues systems in states that have fast growing populations, corporate friendly regulatory environments and considerable investment needs. Of course, all of this is done with an eye toward its bottom line.

Faulty Pipes

2008-10-30

Full Report - From maintenance problems in Atlanta and sewage spills in Milwaukee, to corruption in New Orleans and political meddling in Lexington, the recent history of water privatization in the United States is marred by underachievement and failure. During the 1990s, corporations — many of them multi-billion-dollar conglomerates based overseas — persuaded communities throughout the nation to transfer control of their systems to the private sector.

American Water

2008-12-01

Full Report - RWE’s short, uneasy U.S. experiment is a cautionary tale for all concerned — water companies, regulators, elected officials and citizens alike. The American Water experience raises the question: Should a resource so essential to life be controlled by multinational, for-profit corporations, or safeguarded by the public with strong local oversight and accountability measures?

All Bottled Up: Nestlé’s Pursuit of Community Water

2009-01-14

Full Report - Inside Food & Water Watch's report, All Bottled Up: Nestlé’s Pursuit of Community Water, find information about: water privatization; private utilities; Mecosta County, Michigan; McCloud, California; Shapleigh, Maine; public water

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Desalination: An Ocean of Problems

2009-02-03

Full Report - As local, state and federal governments in the United States increasingly fear drought and water shortages, private corporations are marketing ocean desalination as the solution. They promise that reverse osmosis technology can turn the ocean into a reliable source of drinking water by removing the salt from seawater. While they offer their product for two to four times the cost of other water sources, they fail to advertise the toxic chemicals, marine life damage, carbon emissions and other social and environmental ills that come along with it.

Money Down the Drain

Full Report - Our country faces one of the greatest challenges of this generation. The collapse of the housing market has forced families out of their homes, dried up capital markets, led to job loss and unemployment and left local governments scrounging for money just to keep day-to-day operations running. This includes water and sewer service. Dilapidated sewer lines, faltering treatment plants and unfunded federal mandates only further burden struggling municipalities. Water corporations are trying to milk this economic turmoil for all its worth. They are approaching cash starved cities and towns with offers of money in exchange for their water and wastewater systems.

Dried Up, Sold Out

Full Report - Food & Water Watch's Dried Up, Sold Out: How the World Bank’s Push for Private Water Harms the Poor - Most people in the United States are accustomed to turning on the faucet and seeing safe and healthful water stream forth. But take a trip into the developing world, and one often finds that the tap is dry. Indeed, literally billions of people in developing countries have no access to water and sewer services. And for those who do, the quality ranges from poor to downright dangerous.

Water Privatization Threatens Workers, Consumers and Local Economies

Full Report – Our country’s good public operators have kept water safe and affordable for most households, but despite their successes, they are coming under attack. Private control of water is threatening their jobs, their livelihoods and the wellbeing of entire communities.

Sustaining Our Water Future: A Review of the Marin Municipal Water District’s Alternatives to Improve Water Supply Reliability

Full Report - The Marin Municipal Water District (MMWD) is developing a new program to improve water supply reliability. MMWD staff has identified a theoretical water supply deficit of 6,700 afy by the year 2025. A range of alternatives are being considered to address the projected supply deficit. The alternatives include increased water conservation, improved reservoir management, increased water recycling, importing additional Russian River water and constructing a desalination facility.

Unmeasured Danger: America’s Hidden Groundwater Crisis

Full Report - Farmers in the western United States are drilling ever deeper to water their crops. Mainers are concerned with lowered water levels in their wells when water bottlers come to town. Arizonans see the Santa Cruz River withering away. In communities around the country, these citizens are all seeing the effects of a decline in one of our most crucial but least understood natural resources: groundwater.

Mortgaging Milwaukee’s Future: Why Leasing the Water System Is a Bad Deal for Consumers

Full Report - The City of Milwaukee faces a serious fiscal predicament. Its budget deficit could top $100 million by 2010, and laws restrict its ability to raise taxes to help offset the shortfall. In 2008, with this conundrum in mind, a public official proposed leasing the Milwaukee Water Works to generate a new revenue source. The city needs an alternative to service cuts and fee hikes, but water privatization is an inadequate and possibly expensive option.