Rain falls unenenly over globe results in run off to sea thru rivers and streams. A far greater quantity evapourates directly or via foliage into the atmosphere. Human efforts to reduce this loss known as watermharvesting.

In many parts of the world - Middle East, N. Africa, India, China, NW of Mexico, SW of US evidence that earlier peoples in dry climates practised run off agriculture by building embankments (bunds) to direct water to their crops, or by building terraces on hillsides to conserve rainwater and reduce erosion. In India, small reservoirs('tanks') used for this purpose. Gathering and storing water from rooftops and paved yards is another widespread grassroots method.

In Bombay, the Gram Gourav Pratistan (Village Pride Trust) encourages households with tiny land plots to co-operate in managing water for irrigation, enabling them to grow 2 crops a year rather than 1.

Everywhere in world nwomen are the managers, and usually carriers of for every household purpose, often also horticulture and animal management. Frequently excluded from decision making about water management however. Most societies also have a tradition that the technology of water supply is too complex for women. Worldwide women decide how to use water sources at given times, and through experience maked rational decisions based on access, time, effort, water quantity, quality, and reliability. Where no pump or stand pipe in yard/street(tap in home!), water collection is both time consuming and bad for health: saps energy (and affects children/family) and is a primary cause of pelvic distortion which can lead to death in child birth. In Thailand, miscarriages higher in dry villaeges, resulting from women falling on slippery paths of steep slopes while carrying food, water and a baby; in Bangladesh half of a clinics cases of broken backs were the results of falls with heavy loads.

4 categories of water related diseases: borne - e.g typhoid and cholera; washed - lack of washing affects skin or eyes e.g scabies or trachoma; based - via parasitic worms depending on life-cycles e.g schistosmiasas and guinea worm; water-related insect vectors such as malaria and yellow fever.

Marketising Water

If access to water was governed by the law of scarcity, price would sky rocket so poor could afford none.

Water charges for most British households are linked to the value of the home, rather than consumption; UK trials from early 1990's show that metering can cut household use by 10-15%.1995 water industry figures showed that 826M gallons of water lost through leaking pipes. Govt figures showed that cost up to £200 per household to install meters i.e £4-5 B cost for consumers; annual running cost of meters £500M. Govt attempts to rule water consumption through price will only work as long as water is freely accessible to the poor e.g Lima, where prices are too high for the poor, who buy water by the drum, too low for the rich who bribe drivers of the tank trucks servicing the slums, they use the water to wash their cars with.

In Britain reforms of 1974 brought the supply and disposal of water under direct control of central govt; the treasury (under Labour and Tories) steadily reduced water authorities spending 1974-1986. By 1982 govt allowing water industry to spend only half of 1974 ssum on capital investment. Britain is water rich, with adequate rainfall and only occasional water shortages.e.g May1975-August 1976. Water at time seen as common good and water planners saw any form of supply restriction, even hosepipe ban, as an admission of failure. Regional water authorities pooled access to water rsources and long-term plans for London ring main and to recharge aquifers from winter river water. 'Save-it'publicity campaign during the drought cut water demand by 30% in some areas, measures such as emergency leak detection and mains pressure reductions resulted in a further 10% of savings. 90% of population reduced their bathwater, and basin and sink water. Intense co-operation between the water authorities in the worst drought for 250 years , engineers managed to keep water flowing. Compare and contrast water drought of 1995. Secretary of state for Environment , John Gummer repeated 1976 advice of recycling washing up water, putting brick in cistern etc.. Public had now been re-educated to view water as a capitalist product rather than a natural resource, but little public response.

Water companies responded to incresing critism of their disconnection policies by devoting tiny proportion of their pre-tax profits to charitable trusts to help pooresr indebted customers. This was PR , helped them reduce disconnections, and a tax advantage. Abroad British water companies hunting for contracts for water supply and sewage disposal. Thames Water spokesperson said - 'We are being too soft, and that is why our disconnection levels will rise' (Guardian, 1992), company was part of a consortium re-organising water supply of E. Berlin. Both Suffolk and Essex water companies owned by French Lyonaise des Eaux, together with larger Compagnie Generale des Eaux are world's largest water distributers. 1994 Thames announced that teaming up with General to bid to maintain and expand water and sewage system of Lima (ibid); Anglian Water 1993 part of a consortium led by Lyonaise to modernise and run water and sewage operations of Buenos Aires in Argentina. Chief executive of Thames Water explained the motivation of its involvement in Latin America (and elsewhere) - 'The aim remains to expand non-utility businesses to provide an earnings stream free of regulatory control'. Latin America has a long tradition of 'clientilist-populist' politics resulting in the affluent areas of the city having a heavily subsidised water supply built on large scale 19th century engineering. Most L.Am cities the poor majority do not have access to piped potable water, making them easy victims of the private water sellers e.g in Guayaquil, where 400 tankers service 600,000 ( 35,% of total urban population).These water speculators buy water at ahighly subsidised price and sell it at a price up to 400 higher than that paid by the low volume consumers serviced by the public water utility. The city has appalling hygiene and sanitation problems, but no water scarcity: the average production and supply capacity would allow each inhabitant 220 litres a day; ,current consumption is an average of 307 litres in affluent areas and less than 25 litres for the poorest ( the internationally accepted standard is 150 litres ). Contemporary water imperialism the result of requirements of international water agencies who insist on international tender. Bilateral loans are usually subject to buying equipment and using engineering services from the lending country.. These arrangements privelege infrastructure investment over institutional or organisational improvements and maintenance projects.


Back to Organise! 52 index

Back to AF homepage