| Water,
Water Everywhere?
The 1974 film “Chinatown,” which
was set in Los Angeles in the 1930s, had the struggle
for water rights as a central element of its plot.
While this was a fictional story, it reflected
a very real conflict—a conflict that has
only become more critical and more widespread
over the years, and one that goes back in time
thousands of years to ancient Mesopotamia where
rival city-states fought an all-out war over water.
Recently, The New York Times ran a series of
articles about water problems in Turkey, Syria,
Iraq, China and the U.S. The availability and
ownership of water poses strategic concerns equivalent
to those surrounding oil, with the potential to
pit regions within a country against one another
(as is occurring in both China and the western
U.S.), or one country against another (e.g., Mexico
and the U.S.). The CIA has forecast that, as early
as 2015, the world could witness major conflicts
over access to clean water. From an optimistic
perspective, there is the possibility that efforts
to alleviate water shortages could lead to cooperation
between nations and regions as they develop means
for allocating and conserving shared resources—as
Israel and Jordan are now trying to do with regard
to the Dead Sea.
There are more than 1.1 billion people in the
world without access to clean water and almost
one-half of the world population (about 3 billion
people) does not have adequate sanitation. About
80% of preventable disease in developing countries
is a result of contaminated drinking water, and
as many as 30,000 deaths a day are attributed
to water-related illnesses. The World Bank believes
that a lack of water will be a significant factor
in restraining economic growth around the world.
Worldwide disasters, which include drought, contribute
to persistent poverty.
The fact is, there is a limited amount of fresh
water in the world that is suitable for drinking
and agricultural purposes, and demands for this
water have been steadily rising. Approximately
50% of the available fresh water in the world
is used every year—an amount that could
rise to 74% by 2025 based on population growth
alone, or as high as 90% if per capita use increase.
In the U.S., it is worth noting, per capita water
usage has been declining as a result of lower
usage by industry and agriculture due to technological
improvements and conservation measures. Growing
American cities and suburbs, however, are using
increasing amounts of water.
An increasing number of municipal water systems
around the world are under the operation and management
of private companies (two French firms, Suez and
Vivendi Environnement, are the largest companies
in the business). Not surprisingly, there is serious
disagreement between those who believe something
as essential to life as water is a fundamental
right, and those who believe that efficient delivery
of water can only be done by the private sector.
These points of view are succinctly clarified
by Gilda Pedinoce de Valls of Tucuman, Argentina,
who says: “Water is a gift from God”
and Olivier Barbaroux, president of Vivendi’s
water business, who replies: “Yes, but he
forgot to lay the pipes.”
If more private companies move into the business
of water distribution, continuing to take it out
of the hands of governments, the possibilities
of inequitable distribution rise. This in turn
has the potential to create civic unrest, pitting
the wealthy against the poor and citizens against
private industry (adding more fuel to the anti-globalization
movement). Of course, keeping distribution channels
in the hands of government is certainly no guarantee
that corruption, inefficiency and inequity will
be absent. |
