Urge your senators to oppose dangerous water privatization legislation!
John,
Water. We can’t survive without it. And yet, Congress is trying to hand control of our water systems over to corporations.
With the support of multi-billion dollar water companies, a horrible bill has been proposed in the Senate that would incentivize corporate control of public water by pushing struggling and underfunded water systems to be sold or leased to private companies. And these private companies only have one goal: profit.
Proponents of the so-called “Voluntary Water Partnership for Distressed Communities Act” say their legislation supports environmental justice. But water privatization is the exact opposite of environmental justice.
In reality, privatization — along with its common side effects of higher rates and poor water quality — disproportionately harms Black, Brown and Indigenous communities.
Private utilities typically charge 59% more for water service than local public utilities. And as more people are burdened by unaffordable bills, we’ll see higher rates of water shutoffs. We can’t let this happen — especially as a public health emergency continues to devastate communities across the country.
We’ve already seen how handing over control of our water systems to private businesses worsens drinking water quality. This is because utilities usually cut an average of one in three jobs when they transition from public to private. This means more maintenance backlogs and service problems for customers.
When we hand over control of public water to private corporations, we limit our tools to protect our critical water systems. Now is the time to take action to ensure our water systems remain in public control.
You’ve been fighting with us for months to demand an end to water shutoffs so that people can have access to water during the pandemic and beyond. As we continue to gain momentum in the fight for a national ban on water shutoffs, we must also block dangerous bills like this one that would put the future of our essential resources in the hands of greedy corporations instead of people.
Rianna Eckel
Senior Organizer
Food & Water Action and Food & Water Watch
P.S. Check out our website for more information about water privatization and why it does far more harm than good for our communities.
Food & Water Action and its affiliated organization, Food & Water Watch, are advocacy groups with a common mission to protect our food, water and climate. This email was sent to [email protected] - and we're glad you got it, because it's one of the most important ways you can reclaim political power, hold elected officials accountable and resist corporate control.
