Lower Colorado River Project Expository Essay

Caroline Fowler
In the world today, about 1.1 billion people do not have access to clean drinking water,
and about 2.6 billion people have little to no sanitation access (Water Usage). Population
experts are projecting that two-thirds of the worlds population will be living in water-stressed
areas of the globe by 2025 (Water Usage). These statistics reflect a global water crisis. It is
obvious the use and control of water is important to people all over the world, not just in areas
with poor water infrastructure. Water is vital to every living organism, and finding a solution to
the current water crisis is key in preserving the world as we know it today and for the future of
the planet. One contributing factor to the crisis is the ownership and manipulation of water
rights. Neither individuals, nor corporations should have the right to own and control water. The
privatization of water will only lead to conflict and the manipulation of a shared source that is
vital to every living organism on earth.
Individuals should not have the right to own and control water because they will likely be
more concerned about increasing their wealth and will ignore the obvious needs of the
community, region, country, and world in order to make a profit. For example, billionaire and
former oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens, chair of the BP Capital Management hedge fund, currently
owns more water rights in America than any other individual, and owns so much of the Ogallala
Aquifer that he is allowed to drain approximately sixty-five billions gallons of water per year
(Yang). The Ogallala Aquifer is the largest groundwater source in the United States that spans
from the High Plains in Texas to North and South Dakota (Patoski). Pickens currently owns
more than 150,000 acres of land on top of the aquifer in Roberts County, Texas (Patoski).
Pickens plan is to pump the water underneath his land and sell it to cities like San Antonio and
El Paso that are running out of water (Patoski). While his plan greatly benefits him and will give
him a large profit, it threatens to deplete the aquifer. Pickens is able to treat this water like a
marketable commodity - just like oil and natural gas - is because Texas law says he can
(Patoski). This is due to a law referred to as the rule of capture. It states that while the state
government owns all surface water, the rights of groundwater belong to the owners of the land.
This means landowners have a right to pump and capture whatever water is available,
regardless of the effects of that pumping on neighboring wells (Texas water law). Essentially,
Pickens is planning to drain the Ogallala Aquifer, and then sell citizens the water that existed
there before. His scheme is detrimental to the environment, causing many organisms to die and
ecosystems to be wiped out; and is detrimental to the residents of Texas, by damaging the
economy and causing municipalities, and therefore, residents to pay an exorbitant amount of
money just to obtain a crucial resource. Pickens is one of many wealthy individuals investing in
the water industry (Yang).
Another reason why neither corporations or individuals should have the right to own and
control water is because by the nature of capitalism and marketplace competition, corporations
will be more concerned with making a profit than maintaining a strong water infrastructure and
focusing on the needs and desires of the community. For example, water privatization now has
a firm foothold in Mexico, due to former President Vicente Foxs PROMAGUA initiative (Water
Usage). The PROMAGUA initiative uses a multi-million dollar grant from the World Bank to
expand privatization of Mexicos water resources. The initiative is now in effect in 27 of

Mexicos 30 states, and encourages cities with larger populations to give their water rights up to
corporations (Water Usage). Due to the PROMAGUA program, corporations such as Vivendi
and Suez, two major players in the water game, will make an extremely large profit using
Mexicos water systems (Water Usage). Vivendi and Suezs revenue has consistently grown,
with Vivendis earnings spiking at over seven billion dollars in just a decade (Barlow, Clarke).
Both companies employ several hundred thousand people, more than most governments
(Barlow, Clarke). While Vivendi and Suezs rapid increase in power and profit is impressive,
they have done it at the citizens expense. There have been many incidents where the
companies have raised water rates, and then cut off services to residents who could not pay the
ridiculous new price (Barlow, Clarke). The companies have also greatly reduced the water
quality, and have refused to make investments for the improvement of infrastructure such as
leaky pipes (Barlow, Clarke). According to Public Citizen, corporations have utilized rate hikes
to maximize profits [this] often comes at the expense of water quality and customer service,
but not at the expense of maintaining inflated executive salaries (Top 10 Reasons 1).
Privatization and corporate control of water is driven by profits rather than the public good and
is only beneficial to the corporations involved (Top 10 Reasons 1). The privatization of water
and its manipulation is not only relegated to lesser-developed countries, but is evident in more
economically advanced countries such as the United States. To produce their for-sale bottled
water, the Nestle Corporation has engaged in similar practices as Vivendi and Suez, in
Arkansas (Water Usage).
In conclusion, individuals and corporations should not have the right to own and control
water. Privatizing water only profits the corporations and individuals who are controlling the
water and is at the expense of the community, region, country, and world. Privatization is
extremely harmful to all involved, from the destruction of ecosystems and jobs in the case of T.
Boone Pickens, or the decline in water quality and unfair treatment of citizens in the case of
Suez and Vivendi in Mexico. Individuals and corporations see water as a marketable
commodity, rather than a basic human need and a natural resource (Top 10 Reasons 1).

Works Cited

Barlow, Maude and Clarke, Tony. Water Privatization. Global Policy Forum. Jan. 2004.
Polaris Institute. 28 Apr. 2016.
<https://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/209/43398.html>
Patoski, Joe Nick. Boone Pickens Wants To Sell You His Water. Texas Monthly. Aug. 2001.
Texas Monthly Magazine. 28 Apr. 2016. <http://www.texasmonthly.com/theculture/boone-pickens-wants-to-sell-you-his-water/>
Texas A&M Water Degree Program, College of Geosciences and others. Texas water law.
2014. Texas A&M University. 28 Apr. 2016.
<http://texaswater.tamu.edu/water-law>
Top 10 Reasons to Oppose Water Privatization. Public Citizen. n.d. Water for All Campaign.
28 Apr. 2016. PDF file. <https://www.citizen.org/documents/Top10ReasonsToOpposeWaterPrivatization.pdf>
Water Usage and Privatization. n.d . Food Is Power. Food Empowerment Project. 26 Apr.
2016. <http://www.foodispower.org/water-usage-privatization/>
Yang, Jo-Shing. The New Water Barons: Wall Street Mega-Banks are Buying up the Worlds
Water. Global Research. 25 May 2015. Centre for Research on Globalization. 26
Apr. 2016. <http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-new-water-barons-wall-street-mega-banksare-buying-up-the-worlds-water/5383274>