A global discussion about public water and wastewater By Roseanne Moran

World Water Day celebrations took place in Victoria’s historic Alix Goolden Hall on March 19. Given that the United Nations has designated 2008 the International Year of Sanitation, Victoria’s decision around sewage treatment was up for discussion.

A trio of presenters came to town for World Water Day. Over a few days they shared thoughts and information on how communities in Canada and around the globe are dealing with key water, sewage and environmental issues.

David Boys, an international expert on water and sewage utilities with Public Services International and a member of the UN Secretary General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation, came from Geneva. Gwen Barlee, Policy Director with the Western Canada Wilderness Committee, came with experience from that organization’s campaigns to stop the privatization of BC parks and to fight the power privatization initiative that is currently threatening to devastate the environment on and around more than 500 rivers and creeks in the province. And hailing from Halifax was Cliff White, former Atlantic Region organizer with the Council of Canadians, and an activist in the Halifax fight for public sewage treatment.

While in Victoria, they met with various groups and community leaders, talked to local media and attended the Greater Victoria Water Watch celebration.

David Boys – “Don’t buy last year’s privatization model”

David Boys talks about the global challenge faced by countries to bring in proper sanitation – and the devastating health and social impacts of poor sanitation. Despite all the rhetoric, Boys says that most sewage and wastewater services are publicly controlled, even in the United States where 80 percent remain in public hands.

He brings a strong message that the era of privatization and support for decades-long private contracts to operate public services is coming to an end. Jurisdictions around the globe are finding that such arrangements do not serve the public good. Among the many examples he offers, at least 13 states in the US have put the brakes on deregulation initiatives, and the recently elected mayor of Paris wants to bring water services, which have been privatized, back under public control.

Boys, who has pioneered the concept of public-public partnerships, is critical of Partnerships BC’s narrow approach and singular focus on privatization. “Why don’t we see Partnerships BC looking at ways to support partnerships between public utilities in municipalities and small water districts or First Nations Communities who desperately need the expertise and support that already exists in BC municipalities?” Looking at the CRD specifically, he questions why the push to go private for the seven Core Area communities, when the regional district already operates a wastewater treatment facility serving some of the municipalities on the Saanich Peninsula.

“The private sector is not a magic bullet for dealing with water or sanitation needs. It is simply not the case, as some government and corporations promise, that the private sector with be cheaper and more responsive,” says Boys “There is an enormous opportunity in the CRD to implement world-class sewage treatment with resource recovery programs as part of a well-run, integrated public utility.”

Gwen Barlee – Democracy is good for the environment

Speaking on the link between protecting the environment and keeping services public, Gwen Barlee from the Western Canada Wilderness Committee says that the public interest and the ecological bottom line should not be sacrificed for a corporate bottom line. “Corporate control and priorities are often at odds with our priorities of public accountability and environmental stewardship,” says Barlee.

The decades-long contracts between municipalities or regional districts and multi-national corporations come under sharp criticism from Barlee as communities lose the freedom to adapt to changes in public policy direction (i.e., when a new government with different priorities is elected), new information about impacts on the environment, and new technologies. “Governments’ hands are tied when they enter into these private contracts – and often – it is the environment and democracy that suffer the consequences.”
According to Barlee the same governments that push privatization, like the current BC Liberals, also promote deregulation and cuts in the public service staff that enforce regulations. “It’s a lose-lose for the environment. We lose public control over important services that affect our health and the environment, and we lose the ability to properly regulate and monitor what is happening once services are privatized.”
The secrecy and lack of public accountability that are part of privatization deals also concern Barlee. The public no longer has full access to information about what is happening to the environment and essentially gets left out of the equation.

Cliff White – Hard lessons from Halifax harbour

Cliff White offers advice from his experience as an activist in the Halifax community’s fight against private sewage treatment. While every community has its own unique set of circumstances, White draws a number of parallels between Greater Victoria and Halifax. Both communities face environmental damage related to untreated sewage flowing into the ocean. Both communities almost from the outset face an early push for privatization as the way to fix the problem.

“In the end, the public interest won and Halifax has a public system. But we paid a high price for going through the long and grueling process of considering privatization,” says White. “Rather than focusing on the best technology and the right approach, the main agenda was that of the private company – Suez. Don’t let your community discussion and decision be guided by the priorities of private corporations.”

The coming months for CRD sewage treatment – more public discussion needed
There has been little in terms of real public discussion about what is being proposed in the CRD. The CRD’s Core Area Liquid Waste Management Committee has commissioned a number of studies, but to date, there is no report or recommendations about a P3. The identified timeframe for an Ernst & Young preliminary financial and risk analysis – which will likely recommend a P3 – was originally scheduled for the end of February, but will take longer. As well, a provincial government-sponsored study related to resource recovery programs has yet to be publicly released, although it is rumoured to be completed.

We know that the CRD will be producing a significant report for the BC Environment Minister that will include recommendations on whether to proceed with a P3, by the end of June 2008. Clearly – there is a lot at stake and if the advice and information from Boys, Barlee and White tell us anything, it is that we need a solid public consultation process before and after recommendations are made and we want our elected officials in the CRD to ask the right questions and get the answers about any privatization schemes on offer for sewage treatment.

For more information, visit www.keepwaterpublic.ca, www.world-psi.org (Public Services International), www.wildernesscommittee.org (Western Canada Wilderness Committee), www.canadians.org (Council of Canadians).

Article courtesy of the Lower Island News

Roseanne Moran is a national communications representative with the Canadian Union of Public Employees