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Privatization is Killing Jackson’s Water System [1]

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Date: 2022-10-26

Fifty years ago, Congress passed the Clean Water Act. The Clean Water Act established the basic structure for regulating water pollution, and regulating quality standards for surface waters. Prior to the federal law, it was common practice for companies to dump chemicals, waste materials and raw sewage into rivers. The act transformed our relationship with water, and made clean water an expectation and a reality for most Americans. Despite the passage of the law, clean water is not a reality of all Americans. In Mississippi, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is investigating the failure of the state to adequately fund Jackson’s water system, leading to the Jackson Water Crisis, which began on July 29 and left residents without clean water until Sept. 15.

Access to clean water and sanitation is a human right. It is, therefore, concerning that Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves has been pushing to privatize the Jackson water system. Reeves believes that privatizing the O.B. Curtis Water Treatment Plant will allow it to produce enough clean water to satisfy the needs of the people. Reeves logic, a mainstay of Republican ideology, is that private companies will always deliver better services than the government.

Unfortunately for that ideology, the reality is that the government has always played a vital part in the development of the country. As for privatization, the Jackson water system has already worked extensively with private companies, and the results are there for all to see. Crisis has followed crisis, and Reeves solution is for more of a failing solution.

Indeed, the most pertinent reason for the city’s crisis is the lack of funding from the state. Under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Mississippi was granted $429 million to improve its water infrastructure. Last year, the state received $75 million of that, but did not allocate any of that money to the majority-black city of Jackson.

Instead, the city was left to work with Veolia and Siemens. Veolia is a French multinational that is active in three areas that public authorities typically manage: water management, waste management and energy services. Siemens is a German multinational conglomerate with an extensive industrial portfolio. Veolia has been accused of dumping poorly treated wastewater into the river, while Siemens has been accused of overcharging for its billing system and leading the city into $200 million of debt related to that system. The city’s work with those private companies has reduced the amount of money available to clean the city’s water, and it has reduced the amount of available clean water.

Deepening the ties with private capital will not make the situation better. What the city needs is not privatization, but for the state to allocate the money the city needs. Privatization of utilities often leads to higher prices, reduced supply, and a decline in quality, without the ability to remove the private companies involved. A private company has little incentive to provide large amounts of clean water, at the lowest possible price. Its goals are profits and the search for profits goes against the basic drive that should animate utility providers.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/10/26/2131367/-Privatization-is-Killing-Jackson-s-Water-System

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