[Dialogue] On Tap at the WTO: Private Water

[Darrell Walker]

  From a previous Dialogue article on the dangers of privatization of water resources:

  "Wenonah Hauter, who heads the NGO Food and Water watch, says, "Privatization is being touted as the most efficient, it's supposed to lead to much better services than public water." But the track record of the private water companies is "really terrible around the world, in the developing countries and in the developed world."
  The largest privatization in the U.S. was in Atlanta and Hauter describes it as "a complete failure. The way that the company achieved its efficiency -- and this is true whether its Atlanta or Jakarta -- is that they fire staff. Roughly half in Atlanta. At that point they are no longer able to really maintain the pipes and provide potable water, so you had a relatively wealthy city like Atlanta having brown water days -- people having to boil their water and not being able to do laundry.""


  Darrell replies:  I asked a friend who lives in the Atlanta area what he knew about this.  Turns out he knew little, which idicates it has not been a major news item.  But he did check into it and reported the following:

    I had to do some research about Atlanta's water problem.  We live 
  in unincorporated DeKalb County  and do not depend on Atlanta for 
  water.  Here's what I learned...

  1.  Atlanta had a contract with United Water for four years.  The deal had 
  been arranged by former Mayor Bill Campbell.  When the new mayor, Shirley 
  Franklin, assumed office she immediately began an investigation of the 
  operators and the contract.  It was a $21.4 million a  year contract, the 
  largest of its kind when it was signed. Mayor Franklin, greatly respected 
  in Atlanta and nearly every where she goes, discovered that the company was 
  not living  up to its contract with the city.  So in 2003 the city took 
  over the water department again.

  I haven't read any stories about Atlanta's water recently, so I guess 
  things are going along OK.


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