Drinking water: Public utility or private enterprise?
 

Janet Burnet
July 24, 2008  Community View The Journal News

United Water wants Haverstraw to approve a pilot desalination plant without scrutiny under the State Environmental Quality Review Act - in anticipation of later building a full-scale multi-million-dollar facility that would draw from the Hudson River. Whether siting a pilot desalination plant constitutes segmentation of the SEQRA process or not, it's worth asking, "Do Rockland residents want a desalination plant, and do we really need one?" More thought and consideration should go into this process before any facility - a pilot or otherwise - is sited.

Water is a necessity of life. Should private enterprise control our wallets and our water faucets?

The Hudson River is one of America's most majestic historic natural treasures. Is it a mere commodity to be sold for the enrichment of the foreign multinational company that owns United Water? With the permit to build a desalination plant on the Hudson, this French-owned company will vastly increase its net worth.

Perhaps it's time to consider whether it is wise for our drinking water to be privately owned. Perhaps it is time to follow the wisdom of other municipalities, like Atlanta, whose bad experience with United Water forced municipal leaders to oust the company and take control.

When Suez Lyonnaise purchased United Water, many residents and leaders attended the New York State Public Service Commission hearings to speak against the takeover.

United Water has subsequently neglected local infrastructure improvements and water exploration. Only because of pressure from the Town of Ramapo and the Public Service Commission, United Water recently began infrastructure improvements and water exploration initiatives. Now United Water claims desalination is the best way to meet water supply demands. Other alternatives such as Ambrey Pond have long been a possibility. A desalination plant may be more lucrative for the company, but could potentially be damaging to our community - ushering in unlimited development, costing extra millions of dollars in infrastructure, waste treatment improvements and more.

We need to know what our regional water quantity really is, and how it is affected by water supply regulations that send water from Rockland reservoirs to New Jersey. We need a plan that fairly balances supply, regulations, infrastructure improvements and water exploration investments across the region. Discovery should be unbiased, science-based and performed regionally, across boundaries.

Suez operates United Water New York and United Water New Jersey like two separate businesses, as if they draw water from separate sources. Wrong. Water knows no boundaries and watershed planning and management must take every part of our watersheds into consideration.

Rockland County partially contains three regional bi-state watersheds: The Ramapo-Mahwah, Saddle River and the Hackensack. The Ramapo-Mahwah spans Orange County, drops through Rockland and extends to southern Bergen County and a small portion of Passaic County, N.J. The Saddle River and Hackensack rise in Rockland County and extend into the lower reaches of Bergen County.

Since our water supply is regional, it is time to manage it regionally. It is time for local watershed municipalities and the states of New York and New Jersey to work together to address our water issues from a bi-state, regional perspective. We need to examine state laws that may need updating.

We must establish a water budget for our region, with a goal of bi-state, regional sustainability. We need to know what total sustainable supply of water is available for use, recovery and recharge, regionally, taking into account all users - not just United Water ratepayers. Then real planning can begin and we can learn to manage this precious resource across artificial boundaries - whether these boundaries are regulatory burdens or government jurisdictions.

Our water is a natural resource. It is a birthright, not a commodity. Governments have a primary duty to see that healthy, affordable water is provided to the people. Private corporations like United Water have a primary duty to enrich their shareholders. Our lives and our water should not be subject to profit-motivated private enterprise. Perhaps it is time for our leaders to take back our water for their constituents. Perhaps it is time to manage this public resource as a public utility.