permaculture

[Marimike6@cs.com]

Leon asks "Who is going to watch the private companies to be sure
they don't cut corners at the expense of the public?"

When control of the water goes to the corporate model, the public interest is 
not at issue. Corporations are legally responsible only to execute the 
interests of their shareholders, as their mission is to maximize profit.

The typical experience in countries like Bolivia or Tanzania has been that 
bankrupt economies, faced with the failure of the government to be able to 
maintain water delivery systems, have offered the job to outside interests, 
of 
which there are several companies operating around the globe.

These places get their new water systems, but people are unable to afford the 
new, higher prices that contain not only the costs of the new system but the 
margin of profit. So the new, clean water is not made available to people. 
Instead a search is made for corporate clients who might be interested in 
consuming it. In India, Coke showed up in a big way to drink the water people 
could 
no longer afford.

There's abundant material on the web about all this.

Michael