12% of population uses 85% of water water wars zoltan grossman the evergreen state college

12% of population uses 85% of water12% of population uses 85% of water

MajorityMinority

BymajorityByminority

WATER WARSWATER WARS

Zoltan GrossmanZoltan GrossmanThe Evergreen State CollegeThe Evergreen State College

http://academic.evergreen.edu/g/grossmaz

Sources of waterSources of water

Surface fresh water: 3% of liquid water,

which is 13% of fresh water,which is 2.4% of water

Precipitation Patterns

U.S. Water Policy

• Through most of US history, water policies have generally worked against conservation. In well-watered eastern states, water

policy was based on riparian use rights. In drier western regions where water is

often a limiting resource, water law is based primarily on prior appropriation rights.

- Fosters “Use it or Lose it” policies.

Ogallala Aquifer

High-capacitywellwithdrawals

Dried-up reservoirDried-up reservoir

Western U.S. water conflictsWestern U.S. water conflicts

Klamath Basin, OregonKlamath Basin, Oregon

vs.vs.Farmers.Farmers.

Ranchers.Ranchers.““Wise Wise Users”Users”

Commercial fishers,Commercial fishers,Sport fishers,Sport fishers,Tribes,Tribes,EnvironmentalistsEnvironmentalists

Climate change affecting freshwater Climate change affecting freshwater

Nisqually Glacier, Mt. Rainier Nisqually Glacier, Mt. Rainier

Bulk water transfers

River system diversions(Canada-to-U.S.)

Water pipelines(Canada/Great Lakes-to-Southwest)

Supertankers(North America-to-Asia)

Canadian government banned bulk transfers in 1999.

WATER AVAILABILITY AND USE

• Renewable Water Supplies Made up of surface runoff and infiltration

into accessible freshwater aquifers.

Readily accessible, renewable supplies are 400,000 gal /person/year.

Depleting Groundwater

• Groundwater is the source of nearly 40% of fresh water in the U.S. On a local level, withdrawing water faster

than it can be replenished leads to a cone of depression in the water table,

- On a broader scale, heavy pumping can deplete an aquifer.

Mining non-renewable resource.

Depleting Groundwater

FRESHWATER SHORTAGES

• Estimated 1.5 billion people lack access to an adequate supply of drinking water. Nearly 3 billion lack acceptable sanitation. Freshwater withdrawals doubled in 50 yrs.

• A country where consumption exceeds more than 20% of available, renewable supply is considered vulnerable to water stress.

Global Water Use Growth

A Precious Resource

• 45 countries have serious water stress, and cannot meet the minimum essential water requirements of their citizens.

More than two-thirds of

world’s households have

to retrieve water from

outside the home.

Water use and commodification

Agriculture

Industry

Household/municipal

PRIVATIZATION

• Price mechanisms charging a higher proportion of real costs to users of public water projects has helped encourage conservation.

Yet discriminates against poor.

Global water Industry Over $140 Billion a year

The World Water and Wastewater Utilities Market is estimated at $142 billion US in 2000…

(2000, $US)

Water multinationals

Public/private water in EU countries

95 100

82

63

25

100 100 96

100 100 100 99

90

98

12

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Belgium

Denmark Ge

rmany

Spain

France

Greece

Ireland

Italy

Lux

Neth

s

Austria

Portugal

Finland

Sweden

UK

Public Private

1,489

1,6211,716

1,8031,848 1,841

1,784

1,9081,993

2,0502,100 2,100

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999

average annual price (FF) for yearly consumption of 120m3, water & sanitationSource: DGCCRF

Municipal/RégiesDelegated/Private

Public and private prices in France

““Water War” in BoliviaWater War” in Bolivia

Cochabamba residents protestingBechtel privatization of

municipal water system, 1999

Private and public: subsidies to and from water

Private

Loss leaders

Subsidies from taxation

Public

Financing other MNC operations

Financing other public services

Water

services

Alternative: Porto Alegre, Brazil

Autonomous department- Efficiency and public accountability

‘Participatory budgeting’- Decentralised democratic prioritizing

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Alternative: Debrecen, Hungary

• Preferred public to private

• Cheaper

• Financial comparison

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Safety of municipal Safety of municipal water supplieswater supplies

Wisconsin, 1993Wisconsin, 1993

Australia, 1998Australia, 1998

(privatized system)(privatized system)

Ontario, 2000Ontario, 2000(gov’t had dropped(gov’t had dropped

e-coli testing)e-coli testing)

BOTTLED WATER BOTTLED WATER costs more than oilcosts more than oil

Bottled water quality in questionBottled water quality in question

Bottled water growthBottled water growth

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

1970 1980 2000

Billions of gallons

WaterWaterPrivatizationPrivatization

WoodstockRiot 1999Fewer

bubblers inpublic

buildings?

Perrier/Nestle in the U.S.Perrier/Nestle in the U.S.

TexasTexas FloridaFlorida

Perrier/Nestle in the MidwestPerrier/Nestle in the Midwest

WisconsinWisconsin MichiganMichigan

Alliance of farmers, Alliance of farmers, sportfishers, tribe, sportfishers, tribe, environmentalistsenvironmentalists

prevents Perrier fromprevents Perrier frompumping springs,pumping springs,

1999-2002 1999-2002

Protection ofProtection ofrural suppliesrural supplies

from high-from high-capacity wellscapacity wells

“NEW GEOGRAPHY OF CONFLICT”

“Possible flashpoint for resource conflict”Water systems & aquifers• Jordan• Nile• Tigris – Euphrates• Amu Darya• Indus• Mountain Aquifer (West Bank/Israel)”

Water diversions from riversWater diversions from rivers

Yellow River (Huang He)In northern China

Colorado River Deltain U.S./Mexico

Soviet diversion of rivers to the Aral Sea

• Once the 4th largest inland body of water in the world

A series of dams was built to irrigate cotton.

• Aral Sea reduced to about 25% of its 1960 volume, quadrupled the salinity of the lake and wiped out the fishery. Pollutants became airborne as dust, causing significant local health problems.

• The environmental damage caused has been estimated at $1.25 -$2.5 billion a year.

Middle East Water Conflicts

Israeli-Palestinian Water Conflict

Israel uses 82%Of West Bankgroundwater;charges Arabs 3x

Israel’sboundarywith Egypt and Gaza(Palestine)

Dead SeaShrinkage

Tigris and Euphrates riversTigris and Euphrates rivers

TurkeyTurkey

IraqIraq

International cooperation on water useInternational cooperation on water use

DAMSDAMS

Major investments …

• 45,000 large dams

• 2 dams commissioned per day in1970s

• Total investment exceeds $2 trillion

• flow in 60% of world’s rivers affected

• 19% of world’s electricity from hydropower

• Other dams for irrigation, flood control, water supply

2 000

0

4 000

6 000

NUMBER OF DAMS

1900 1990s

Dam projects increasingly questioned

• Affected populations strongly oppose dams

• Proponents point to development demands

• Opponents point to adverse impacts

• Uprisings against globalization

• Examples: Narmada (India), Three Gorges (China), Gabcikovo (Slovakia/Hungary)

Significant impacts on riverine & downstream ecosystems…

• Sediment, salinity, and

herbicide concentrations

• Biodiversity losses

• Fish migration, nutrient flows blocked

• Evaporation in reservoirs

• Reservoirs emit greenhouse gases

• Flooding if dam fails

• 67% of ecosystem changes in survey are negative

Heavy toll on human communities…

• Estimated 40-80 million physically displaced; many others affected by social disruption

• Flooding of Cultural Sites (Archeological and Modern)

• Project cost overruns/debt

• Socio-economic centralization

• Negative impacts fall disproportionately on disadvantaged populations

Water resourceswww.worldwater.org/ www.groundwater.com/Privatization of waterwww.citizen.org/cmep/Water/www.blueplanetproject.org www.ratical.org/co-globalize/BlueGold.pdf Bottled waterwww.knowbottledwater.org Damswww.dams.orgwww.irn.org Water Wars (books)www.southendpress.org/books/waterwars.shtmlwww.mapcruzin.com/rev_resource_wars.htm

Strategies to protect natural resources

• DESTABILIZE: Make investment “risky for companies. Make the cost of delays and poor Public Relations too high

• Divide and conquer the capitalists Pit Banks vs. TNC, Subsidiary vs HQ, Shareholders vs. CEOs

• Protect movement from “divide & conquer” Solidarity of Core and Periphery grassroots Not In Anyone’s Back Yard (NIABY) A mine in U.S. won’t prevent a mine in Latin America, and vice versa

• Take power Local (Nashville WI, Chaltenango, El Salvador) National (Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela, etc.)

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Grassroots organizing to protect resources

• Internet for research, education, networking, mobilizing

• Popular education Speaking tours, Translate technical/legal info

• Sectoral organizing Local grassroots groups Form around interest (students, tribal, health care,

women, fishers, farmers, labor)

• Alliance-building Umbrealla for sectoral groups Regional, national networks Exchange Core, Periphery activists

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WISCONSINWISCONSIN

COLOMBIACOLOMBIA

Tactics to protect natural resources

• Global media campaigns Make their Public Relations scream

• Jump scales (scope of conflict) Internationalize local issues Localize international issues

• Legal action Shareholder resolutions Local government resolutions Lobbying/legislation (state/national) Lawsuits in courts of HQ country

• Direct action Site occupations, road/rail blockades Sabotage, rebellion

NIGERIANIGERIA

ECUADORECUADOR