End the Privatization of Water

Water privatization has been a suggested solution for the commons, however the undeniable necessity for clean access to water poses many ethical dilemmas to privatizing water. When private, profit-maximizing corporations claim control of public water utilities – communities suffer and accountability is obstructed. As detailed by the Human Rights Quarterly "international human rights law imposes obligations on states to respect, to protect, to promote, and to fulfill the human rights of those within their jurisdiction." If we regard water as a human right by its obvious necessity than the responsibility of its allocation and quality assurance should be held by no other entity but the state or local jurisdiction.

Problems that arise from privatization of water include conflict with public interest, higher rates and operating costs, lower service quality, loss of transparency and overall irresponsibility (Food & Water Watch). The EPA found that possibly for these reasons private water companies are not popular across the U.S. and many have moved to public ownership, "For-profit water companies own only about 10 percent of water systems, most of which serve small communities." (Safe Drinking Water Federal Information System). However, these small communities are exploited by these corporations, "On average, private for-profit utilities charged households 59 percent more than local governments charged for drinking water service — an extra $185 a year" (Food & Water Watch).

Residents pay more for a lower quality service that cannot be held accountable by them or their lawmakers. In fact, the National Association of Water Companies (NAWC), representing the private water industry, lobbies both Congress and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to prevent implementation of higher water quality standards (Public Citizen). This power corporations hold to circumvent establishments meant to ensure safety and quality for residents is a gross offense and reason for-profit companies should have no handling of public utilities. Disregard of safety and lack of transparency is modeled in the case of privatization in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The public effected was neither consulted nor informed about the privatization process of their water supply, documents were deemed "confidential" and the public had no leverage or say in the process (The Guardian). Instead, international corporations determined the fate of their human right to water. These issues of price gouging, secrecy, unregulated service and exploitation share the common underlying loss of public accountability when water is privatized. 

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