LeakBird

Conserving Water, One Toilet At A Time

Water Rights and/or Wrongs: Maude Barlow Ilk Vs. Privatization (WaterBlogged.Info)

Jan.19, 2009 in Water Crisis, Water Industry, Water Rights

(Jan. 18, 2009 WaterBlogged.Info)

In a December 28, 2008 posting, The Human Right to Water: The Time Has Come, Michael Campana of WaterWired has expressed a change of heart about the right to water. At the risk of misconstruing the story of his conversion, its primarily geo-political and pragmatic concerns that dictate the need for a right to water:

It would essentially put recalcitrant countries on notice that they need to put access to water at the top of their ‘to do’ lists. Failure to do so could lead to assorted sanctions and other pressures from the international community.

There is also a practical reason for declaring this right and pressuring countries to recognize and support it. Lack of access to clean water means more diseases, which themselves may not always be life-threatening but can lead to compromised immune systems, rendering people more susceptible to fatal diseases. Lack of access to clean water could also lead to civil unrest and pose a threat to internal and international security.

The simple-minded editorial staff over here at Waterblogged.info think people have a right to water because people have always had a right to water. Why billions across the globe don’t enjoy that right is another very, very complex issue, far beyond the scope of today’s half-hearted posting effort. But, the water-bloated wealthy countries of the world magnanimously granting the benighted of the earth a right to water after heady debates about the pros and cons. . . man. . .

I more often than not respect Michael’s opinions, but his knee-jerk pro-business, anti-Maude Barlow thing is kind of funny. After the above, he quickly takes a jab at Barlow and jumps to the defense of privatizing efforts:

Maude Barlow and her ilk who decry privatization have it wrong. Without private industry we cannot bring safe water to over 1 billion who lack it nor sanitation to the 2.5 billion or so who lack access to that. Declaring water to be a human right does not preclude a role for private industry.

C’mon Michael, people who “decry privatization” aren’t stupid. I don’t think anybody in their right mind thinks that there is no role for private industry in a public project. That’s always been part of the system: 1) A project is approved. 2) It’s bidded out. 3) A company or companies is/are awarded contracts either based on a good-faith vetting of the bids or kick-backs. 4) The companies do their job, hopefully without using too much cost-saving substandard construction material and other scary short-cuts, 5) take the money, and 6) leave.

We Maude-Barlow ilk are worried about the last step. Now the idea is that they stay and control the distribution of the water in order to make a profit. We’re not dopes that think that all corporations are evil–we just think that their drive to maximize profit above all else is a demonstrably bad model for equitable water delivery.