Incompetence and greed have made the simple necessity of turning on the tap an expensive, and increasingly prohibitive, part of ordinary life.

 

In Alabama, home of the nation’s largest public bankruptcy (Jefferson County), local residents are struggling to pay water and sewage bills that are skyrocketing as a result of a 1990s infrastructure investment gone bad. Over the past 15 years, water and sewage rates have been combined into a single bill—which has soared an average of 329%.

 

Poor people in Birmingham are finding it especially tough to pay monthly bills of $150, when their income is only $600. Those who can’t keep up with payments get cut off, leaving them to bathe using bottled water and rely on portable toilets.

 

In Texas, the trouble stems from privateers coming in and taking over local water districts. Three out-of-state corporations currently own about 500 of the state’s water systems that serve more than 250,000 people. Beholden to shareholders seeking higher returns on their investments, the private companies have continued to raise water rates to maximize profits at the expense of customers’ pocketbooks.

 

Some residents stuck with private water suppliers are paying rates 60% higher than neighbors who get their water from public utilities.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

The Scandal of the Alabama Poor Cut Off from Water (by Brian Wheeler, BBC News)

Growth of Large Private Water Companies Brings Higher Water Rates, Little Recourse for Consumers (by Jeremy Schwartz and Eric Dexheimer, Austin American-Statesman)

Largest County in Alabama Files for Bankruptcy (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)