Water warriors worldwide putting privatised water back in people’s hands

Around the world, people are waking up to the threat of privatised water and are taking it back from the corporations to be recognised as a human right, not a privilege. In the UK, an overwhelming 80 percent of people now want British water back in public hands, too.

There has been a push to privatise water over recent decades. While big business considers it theirs to waste through intensive mining and corporate agribusiness, people are left with soaring bills and neglected infrastructure.

In the UK, rip-off water bills will help force many people into choosing between eating or heating their homes this winter. In the global South, privatisation has cut millions of people off from their own water supply and has cost countless lives. But people are fighting back — and winning.

France was once the poster child of water privatisation but is now returning to public ownership. In Ireland, the right to water is a national issue, with civil society opposition mounting and women’s groups taking direct action against the installation of water meters. In Jakarta this month, the Indonesian Supreme Court ended water privatisation after years of campaigning over water access being denied to the city’s poor. […]

Full article: Water warriors worldwide putting water back in people’s hands