A World Without Water

          “Should water be a human right or a tradable commodity?” This question is posed by the above documentary which is entitled A World Without Water. The documentary was released in 2006 and produced by Brian Woods. It investigates the future of the world’s water supply by depicting an alarming picture of water’s increasing commodification and the fight for its ownership. Everyday 3,900 children die due to lack of water and poor sanitation. There are billions of people in this world that do not have access to safe water. This situation seems to be worsening as water becomes even scarcer.

            

           The most devastating scenes of this documentary include a little girl by the name of Vanessa who lives with her family in El Alto, Bolivia. Vanessa and her parents have to travel miles to collect water from an unreliable well every day. The most disturbing thing is, they live next to their city’s main water treatment plant and see that there are millions of gallons of water at an arm’s reach, but cannot afford it. They have fallen victim to the increasing commodification of water. In Bolivia the water system is privatized and is owned by the global corporation Suez. There are many negatives that come with the privatization of this scarce resource. One is privatization puts a price on the water supply. By putting a price on this scarce resource, it will lead to a two-tiered world of those who can afford water and those who cannot. This will force millions of people to choose between necessities such as water and health care. In some places, the water rates force people to choose whether or not to wash their food, flush their toilets, or even bathe. So what will happen to the families who cannot afford to pay for water? Some may end up like Vanessa and her family, having to receive water from an untrustworthy source and be susceptible to water borne diseases or will be forced to go without it and meet an unfortunate end.  With the billions of people who inhabit this earth, are we going to stand by and watch as our right to clean water is taken away from us? If we continue with the trend of losing public control of our water systems, there will be no one left with the ability to claim this life-giving source for the earth.

            

          No one is safe from the reality that there is not enough water for the rest of the earth’s existence. If we continue on this path an expert from the film cautions that in coming years, the price private companies charge for water will be higher than the price of gasoline. It is time that we combat this problem now before it is too late. I highly recommend watching this documentary and to pass it on to your friends and family. It is time that people realize the extent of this issue.

T.Y.G