Water Watch
HANDOUT 15a

Effects of Water Privatization
  1. Read silently.
  2. Read aloud.
  3. Discuss.

Investors see water as the oil of the 21st century. Although Canada's freshwater is publicly owned and controlled, increasingly, private companies are vying for control of water treatment, delivery and sewage services. Some municipalities are exploring public-private partnerships in the provision of water services. The Ontario government has been pushing water privatization for years.

But privatization comes at a price. In England and wales, where water services were privatized in the late 1980's, customers have seen their rates soar, water shortages have been severe, and thousands of low-income people have had their water disconnected, raising serious concerns about the public health consequences. Little has been reinvested in the aging infrastructure, and the actual savings from privatization - the result of massive layoffs, pay cuts and union busting - have been poured into lavish salaries, higher shareholder dividends and capital to buy other utilities worldwide.