Feb. 14, 2003 -- An organization has released several reports recently which state that water services are being consolidated under a few large corporations globally, and that various global organizations like the World Bank are accelerating this process.
A series of reports available on the web site of the Center for Public Integrity highlight the status of water system privatization by global region.
The section, entitled "The Water Barons," said the growth of three private water utility companies over the last 10 years could be leading to the loss of control over this essential resource to a "handful of monopolistic corporations".
"In Europe and North America, analysts predict that within the next 15 years these companies will control 65 percent to 75 percent of what are now public waterworks," the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists wrote.
The World Bank and other international organizations may unwittingly be helping these large companies accelerate this trend. The report points to aggressive lobbying for privatization in numerous countries.
Anti-privatization groups fear that the large corporations' accountability will disappear, and the customers will lose their control over the water they drink and use every day.
The site features separate reports on Australia, Canada, the U.S., Columbia, Indonesia, The Philippines, Argentina and South Africa, and a report on cholera and its possible connection to some water privatization activities.
To read the reports, visit http://www.icij.org/dtaweb/water/.
About the Center for Public Integrity
The Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, tax-exempt organization, was founded by Charles Lewis following a successful 11-year career in network television news.
The quality of the center's work, in just over a decade, has firmly established the organization as an institutional presence in Washington, D.C., the organization said. The organization strives to have a reputation for "public service journalism."
