Water Privatization

The privatization of water began in the nineteenth century as public issues began to arise in Europe in North America. Water privatization is when private corporations buy or operate public water utilities. This includes the maintenance of water systems and water resources.  A transfer of responsibility to operate a water delivery or treatment system, a more complete transfer of system ownership and operation responsibilities, or even the sale of publicly owned water rights to private companies are some of the ways in which water may be privatized.

While “privatization” is a broad term, there are more specific classifications involving water contracts. There are two main classifications: asset sale and management contract. In an asset sale, a private company could buy the entire water system from a government entity or establish that system. In a management contract, a private company is responsible only for the operation of the system. This means that a private company would manage the operation and maintenance of the system but the public would control the access to the water as well as the infrastructure. Privatization is a controversial topic because it is an essential human need but is also an economic good.

Privatization leads to rate increases, undermines water quality, and means that companies are accountable for shareholders and not consumers. Water is seen as a marketable commodity rather than a basic human need and a natural resource. As corporate agendas are driven by profits rather than by the public good, water privatizations usually results in compromising of environmental standards. Private corporations may ignore environmental sustainability. Development of watershed reserve lands increases contaminated runoff, results in loss of habitat and ecosystem services, affects hydrology patterns, and diminishes open space. Most companies seek cheap sources of water with little thought on implications to the natural environment. Bulk water sales have disastrous ecological consequences. Mass extraction of water from its natural source can result in ecological imbalances such as aquifer depletion and groundwater contamination. Aquifers, once depleted or contaminated, are almost impossible to restore.

 According to citizen.org, federal regulations for water are based off a cost-benefit analysis. This could mean that public health is compromised for profits to companies. Privatization of water reduces local control and public rights. It is hard to determine if the company will work in the best interest of the community and, if dissatisfied with the company, the water rights are extremely difficult to buy back from the company.

Job losses are a major factor in water privatization. Private companies aim to minimize costs and increase the profits and this means that sometimes service and water quality are put at risk because of understaffing. Layoffs are not only tragic to the employees and their families, but to the consumers that are utilizing this water. The privatization of water may also lead to limited access for lower income families.

There are alternatives to corporate water privatization. Around the world, cities have focused on democratic participation, local accountability, and community activism. Measures for improvement of public water supply have already been implemented in many places.

Sources:

https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/insight/water-privatization-facts-and-figures

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-water-privatization.htm

https://www.citizen.org/documents/Top10-ReasonsToOpposeWaterPrivatization.pdf

http://www.fewresources.org/water-privatization-and-global-prospecting.html 

http://www.ciel.org/Publications/EbbFlow_Mar06.pdf

Oceanic Dead Zones

Dead zones, otherwise known as hypoxic zones, are areas that have little to no oxygen concentrations. This means that life cannot thrive as it would under normal oxygen concentrations. These “dead zones” have the potential to occur naturally, such as the churning of ocean waters, but are more often than not the culprit of human activity.

This human activity consists mainly of nutrient pollution into the water. The rain will wash nutrients, namely nitrogen and phosphorus, from the fertilizer runoff. Nitrogen and phosphorus will stimulate algae production and feed marine phytoplankton. This algae will grow in excess and the plankton will practice respiration and both will absorb the oxygen in the water leaving little oxygen for marine life; the marine life will eventually suffocate and die.

Climate change may be a cause of dead zones because there is a lesser concentration of oxygen in warmer waters. Airborne nitrogen from cars, trucks, and power plants emit nitrogen that settle into waterways that make their way to the ocean. This is a problem in Long Island Sound and the Chesapeake Bay area. For the past 20 years Long Island Sound has suffered from dead zones. Chesapeake Bay is host to many dead zones that all originate from a different river. Seventy-five percent of the dead zones in the Chesapeake Bay area are caused by agricultural runoff while the other twenty-five percent is caused by airborne nitrogen.

The second largest dead zone in the world is located in the Gulf of Mexico in the United States. It is estimated that this dead zone is about the size of the state of Connecticut and is caused by nutrients in agricultural runoff.  While the Gulf dead zone does not appear to be getting any bigger, nutrients may still be stored in the sediment and the dead zone no longer thrives only with runoff. There are few dead zones on the west coast compared to the east coast because there just simply aren’t rivers draining into the ocean on the west coast. Coastal waters are where most dead zones exist, but waters inland are not an exception to the phenomena. There are an estimated 166 inland dead zones in the United States alone, Lake Erie being home to one of them.

Worldwide, there are more than 400 dead zones. In Africa and South America, sewage is the majority cause of dead zones. In India, it is human waste and pesticide pollution; in China it is polluted rivers and aquifers.

Dead zones have an impact on the aquaculture industry. In the U.S. this includes coastal fisheries. The marine life will move because they cannot tolerate the low oxygen concentrations. Economically, this is not ideal for the fishing industry and the nation’s food supply. Hypoxic conditions also have an adverse effect on the reproductive processes of fish. The marine animals face severe stress and stop reproducing and laying eggs. This is in part because of the hibernation-like state experienced by many species when the oxygen supply becomes limited. A study done in Texas observed female fish becoming masculinized with sperm appearing in the ovaries.

Dead zones have the ability to recover. Minimization of fertilizer, the burning of fossil fuels, and using surfaces such as concrete would play a large role in the convalescence of the ocean’s dead zones. 

Sources:

http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/deadzone.html

http://www.onearth.org/earthwire/devil-deep-blue-sea

http://www.texasobserver.org/life-dead-zone/

The Atlas of Water, Part 5: Damaged Water

Aquaculture: The United States and Global Scales

 According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), aquaculture is the breeding, rearing, and harvesting of plants and animals in all types of water environments including ponds, rivers, lakes, and the ocean. Marine aquaculture consists of the culturing of species that live in the ocean; freshwater aquaculture consists of species that reside and are native to rivers, lakes, and streams. Aquaculture is typically produced under controlled conditions and may also refer to the development of aquatic plants.

This history of aquaculture in the United States began in Madison, Wisconsin in 1887 when the first fish hatchery was opened. This fueled research and technological advancements leading to industrial development in the middle 1900s. Channel catfish were the first successful aquaculture market, followed by salmon. Shellfish production has been around for years before enhanced beds became a popular method of extraction.

Aquaculture is one of the fastest growing form of food production in the world. Catfish, trout, tilapia, and bass command the aquaculture crops in the United States. Aquaculture in the U.S. supplies seafood, supports commercial fisheries, restores habitat and at risk species, and maintains the economic activity on states that border the coasts. Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Alabama are among the largest catfish suppliers. The northwestern portion of Idaho provides much of the trout production. Every costal state provides shellfish, however the Gulf of Mexico, the Pacific Northwest, and the northeastern region are the top three. It is estimated that 50 percent of fish farms in America use groundwater for production of fish. Trout require large amounts of oxygen and are often raised in raceways with a continuous flow of water that goes through a system.

 According to Aquaculture Magazine, U.S. marine aquaculture production has been increasing steadily in recent years.  Salmon, oysters, and clams are the most important harvested products of the marine category, with the largest extraction occurring off the Pacific Coast. Atlantic coast and the Gulf of Mexico follow suit.  Dutch Harbour, Alaska was found to be the most productive seafood port in terms of volume.

On a global scale the United States is not a major contributing producer of aquaculture despite the fact that U.S. is the second largest consumer of seafood. Salmon is one of the most popular species of fish in the United States, as well as Japan and Europe. China is the leading country in seafood consumption and one of the largest contributing producers to the aquaculture industry. A large percentage of farmed shrimp occurs in China, while Thailand, Indonesia, and India trail behind. Carp is the most farmed fish in China, followed by bream. The most popular farming system includes pond culture, dominating 70 percent of the market. Open-water fish farming - reservoirs, lakes and rivers - is the remaining 30 percent.

G. Knapp of NOAA estimates that doubling the current amount of aquacultures jobs in the U.S. could result in 50,000 jobs and over one billion in farm-gate value. Generally, the importance of aquaculture to support the economy will vary on a basis of region.

Sources:

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/aquaculture/aquaculture_in_us.html

http://www.worldwildlife.org/industries/farmed-shrimp

http://www.worldwildlife.org/industries/farmed-salmon

http://www.fao.org/fishery/countrysector/naso_usa/en

http://www.aquaculturemag.com/daily-news/2015/11/03/us-marine-aquaculture-showing-steady-growth

http://thenaa.net/faqs/about-us-aquaculture

The United Nations General Assembly recognized water to be a basic human right on July 28, 2010. Resolution 64/292 proclaims that states and international organizations must provide financial resources, help capacity-building and technology transfer to help countries, namely developing countries, to provide safe, clean, accessible, and affordable drinking water and sanitation for all.

The water must be sufficient and continuous for personal and domestic use. This would include water for drinking, personal sanitation, washing of clothes, food preparation, and personal and household hygiene. The World Health Organization states that this sufficient and continuous water supply is between 50 and 100 liters of water per person per day.

The water must be safe. This means the water is free from microorganisms, chemical substances, and radiological hazards that constitute a threat to a person’s health.

The water must be acceptable meaning in color, odor, and taste for each personal and domestic use. This means that water facilities and services pertaining to water must be culturally appropriate as well as sensitive to gender, lifecycle, and privacy. Sanitation facilities must be separated by sex and must accommodate common hygiene practices. Feminine hygiene products must have a place of disposal.

Water must be physically accessible. This means water must be within immediate vicinity of the household, educational institution, workplace of health institution. Physically accessibility of water includes easy-reach facilities found by safe paths and facilities located within a safe area. Water must be easily extracted and adapted for to the needs of older persons, those with disabilities, the chronically ill, and pregnant women.

The World Health Organization states that water accessibility is within 1,000 meters of the persons and collection time should not exceed 30 minutes.

Last, but not least, water should be affordable. The United Nations Development Programme states that water should not exceed 3 percent of household income.

States are required to translate the international human rights to water and sanitation to the national level. This means that water and sanitation rights have the potential to be claimed by those that need them. This also makes the rights more enforceable by the national government.

Despite the fact that water and sanitation has now been declared a basic human need, I do not believe that it is being treated as such in many areas of the world. There have been various groups that advocate for these water and sanitation needs, but water and poor sanitation is the world’s second biggest killer of children. The average use for Europeans, 200 to 300 liters per person per day, is asinine compared to the 10 liters per person per day in many developing countries. I find these numbers ridiculous and I am ashamed of my own lackadaisical water usage from day to day. Water is still not affordable in many areas of the world. Water is 5 to 10 times more expensive in areas such as Jakarta, Manila, and Nairobi compared to those in developed countries. I believe this is still a topic that many people know nothing about and that would mean that many have no idea about these facts and figures. I believe water and sanitation are a basic human right, but until these rights are fully implemented, the world must be kept aware and keep working toward the long-run goal.

Sources:
http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/human_right_to_water.shtml
http://www.righttowater.info/why-the-right-to-water-and-sanitation/the-right-to-water-a-legal-obligation/the-content-of-the-rights-explained/
http://www.righttowater.info/rights-in-practice/