Water Wars Commence on Municipal Level
Mar 27, 2016 ● By Jessica Fujan
Corporations such as Illinois American Water and Aqua Illinois are attempting to purchase troubled local municipal water systems at an alarming rate. In recent years, community resistance to these leases and sales has proven successful; clearly, the right to access our most essential resource, affordable drinking water, is deeply felt by all Americans. Now, these companies would like to change our state laws to make it easier for them to procure our water systems and harder for communities to protect them.
In the past four sessions, the Illinois legislature has sponsored bills that would challenge our rights to defend our water or force ratepayers to foot the bill for risky acquisitions. Food & Water Watch has fought many successful battles at the state and local level, and is now taking the fight to Congress. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that our utilities need more than $700 billion to address infrastructure needs over the next 20 years.
Without increased federal support for community water systems, rates will continue to increase to pay for necessary repairs and upgrades. That makes communities more vulnerable to privatization, which is not an equitable or cost-effective means of providing water service.
Food & Water Watch urges residents to write to their congressional representatives to support clean drinking water for all in two ways:
Sign the online pledge to lawmakers to support safe and locally managed drinking water for all communities at Tinyurl.com/CleanWaterPetition. Write and call lawmakers and ask them to fully fund the established and proven federal programs that support our public water and sewer systems and reject all measures that incentivize and facilitate private control of our essential water and sewer services. In addition, tell our lawmakers to approve no tax breaks or subsidies for water privatizers.
Jessica Fujan is the senior Midwest organizer for nonprofit Food & Water Watch. For more information, visit FoodAndWaterWatch.org.
