Water Exploitation

Christine LaCouvee, Shifa Rehman, Chelsea McCulley,

Colin Soo, & Jimwen Zhang
Agenda
INTRODUCTION
QUIZ
3 MAIN AREAS:
PRIVATIZATION
HEAVY INDUSTRY
BOTTLED WATER
WATER CHALLENGE
CASE STUDY: NESTLE
COURSE CONTENT
IMPLICATIONS OF WATER EXPLOITATION
RECOMMENDATIONS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=laJYq_Mfk7Q
What is Water Exploitation?
Occurs if a water resource
is mined or extracted at a
rate that exceeds the
practical sustained yield
rate
Turns most of the worlds
underground water and
lakes into finite resources
Some Perspective
More than 3.4 million people die each year from
water, sanitation, and hygiene-related causes
and 99% of these deaths occur in the developing
world
Lack of access to clean water and sanitation kills
children at a rate equivalent of a jumbo jet
crashing every four hours
780 million people lack access to an improved
water source; approximately 1 in 9 people
The water and sanitation crisis claims more lives
through disease than any war claims through
guns
A five minute shower uses more water than an
average person in a developing country uses in
an entire day
Water Use by Industry
Water Withdrawals by Country
Quiz
1. Which industry uses the most water?
2. Which country withdraws the most water?
3. How many people die each year from a water related disease?
4. How many people lack access to clean water?
5. Groundwater depletion in Mexico City has caused it to sink how many feet?
6. How many people have no access to clean water?
7. Water sustains? (3 answers)
3 Main Areas
PRIVATIZATION
HEAVY INDUSTRY
BOTTLED WATER
Privatization
Forbes Magazine The oil of the 21st
century
Privatization: Transferring the
control of water from the public sector
to the private sector
Nestle CEO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=7iGj4GpAbTM
Privatization
Adverse Effects:
Rate increases
Undermines water quality
Companies are accountable to shareholder, not consumers
Fosters corruption
Reduces local control and public rights
Private financing costs more than public financing
Leads to job losses
Difficult to reverse
Can leave the poor with no access to clean water
Would open the door for bulk water exports
http://www.citizen.org/documents/Top10-ReasonsToOpposeWaterPrivatization.pdf
Heavy Industry: Agriculture
Irrigation = 37% of water used in US industry
Farming = 70% of water used in the world
Increased competition for water resources due to:
urbanisation,
industrialisation
climate change
Could affect water supply and agriculture through changes in
the seasonal timing of rainfall and snowpack melt, as well as
higher incidence and severity of floods and droughts
http://www.oecd.org/environment/wateruseinagriculture.htm
Heavy Industry: Agriculture
Approx. 1.7 billion cubic metres of water used in irrigation in 2012
75% = off-farm sources
90% = Provincial sources
20% = on-farm surface water
5% = on-farm underground sources
In 2012:
785 farms had to stop or forgo irrigation because of a shortage of
surface water
340 farms suffered from a shortage of underground water
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/16-402-x/2013001/aftertoc-aprestdm2-eng.htm
Heavy Industry:
Thermoelectric Power
Amount of water needed per day:
59 billion gallons of seawater &
136 billion gallons of freshwater
Open Loop:
Withdraw water for cooling and discharge the heated water back to the
source
Consumption low however Aquatic life can be adversely affected
Increase value of water could provide incentive for cooling improvements
that need less water
http://www.sandia.gov/energy-water/docs/121-RptToCongress-
EWwEIAcomments-FINAL.pdf
Bottled Water
Factors of bottled water
In 2009:
almost 50% = municipal tap water suppliers
2010 survey:
3 companies provide the public with the same level of information available for tap water.
Facilities employ few people
High injury rate
http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/water/bottled/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czfSwjx4yYA
BC Regulations (or lack of)
Does not require companies to obtain a permit to withdraw water
or report withdrawal
BC has no comprehensive groundwater regulation therefore
withdrawals from wells are virtually untracked
The province does issue water licences for surface sources such as
rivers, lakes and streams
BC has no single agency for tracking and reporting water use
Does not impose across-the-board-metering requirements
The government charges often low fees for surface water usage
Nestle in BC
Water withdrawals with the District of hope
Draws from the same aquifer as the 6,500 local residents that use it for
drinking water
Withdrew 71 million gallons, enough to fill more than 537 million half-litre
bottles
Does not charge Nestle a penny for the water it uses and drains
WATER CHALLENGE!
VS
Effects of Water Exploitation
By Nestle
Poverty
Corruption
Environmental Issues
Poverty
Aggressive water grabs in developing countries
No access to clean drinkable water
No choice but to buy Nestles bottled water
Communities left with dried up wells and foul
smelling sludge
Pure Life is more expensive than the average
daily income
The poor are confronted with becoming sick
from drinking bad water but unable to afford
Nestles inflated prices
Corruption
Access to water should not be a public
right
Nestle fought hard to ensure that water
was not defined as a universal right but
rather as a need
Unfair contract negotiations
Unfair profit margins
Basically get water for free and
communities get nothing in return
Environmental Issues
Global water crisis conditions
Water overuse, pollution, and waste
Increased traffic in rural communities and no more quiet rural lifestyles
Wells, rivers, lakes and eco-systems are drained dry
Plastic bottle making process
Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=EcnNXnllCmE
Case: Fryeburg USA
45 year contract
$144,000 rent
136,000 signatures delivered
Public Utilities Commission
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZ7g2PAEJx4
Questions
Should the contract between Fryeburg water
Co. & Nestle go through?
What is unethical about this case?
what type of ethical management is Nestle
displaying? Immoral? Amoral? Moral?
CARROLLS PYRAMID
Stakeholders
Who are Nestles stakeholders?
Stakeholder Matrix
Media
Consumers
Communities
Activists
general public

NGOs
Government
Industry Associations
Suppliers
Distributors
Competitors
Employees
customers
Shareholders
Government
Problematic Antagonistic
Low Priority Supporter
Sea water desalination
Government regulations
Industry Associations
Code of conduct/ethics
CSR code of ethics audit program
Recommendations
Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=aysj7696b0A
Thank you!