I’m thinking some of these guys will want to be involved in Water Aid 2011.  Check out Rolling Stone article on The 15 Most Eco-Friendly Rockers!

Here is a link to the Food and Water Watch website. Please click here to view their stance on privatization of water.

Global Rivers Art movement is gaining momentum in Pulaski Co., Tennessee!  Bernice wrote a stirring letter to the editor of The Pulaski Citizen and the paper is running with it.  Just follow the link to read the article on the issue; and on the front page no less. 

The Tennessee Clean Water Network is also lending a helping hand in getting the word out to other towns and counties who are, or will soon face the same dilemma.  Tennessee is facing a real epidemic of water thievery, all over the state.  Please join us in bringing awareness to this issue by talking about it with friends, family, co-workers, whomever will listen:  Water belongs to the people, not corporations. 

In my own family, I’ve put my foot down about buying the tiny bottles of water, en masse from Costco.  Even buying the distilled water, rather than spring water, propagates the creation of more plastic bottles, which is a detrimental enterprise.

Listen, if it can happen in Tennessee, then it can happen to any of the rural farmlands in the country.  Raise awareness in your own community so that when the big bottling company comes to yourtown, the people will not be caught off-guard by big promises and small delivery.

After going to two meetings (one city council and one utilities meeting) about the selling of the water in Minor Hill TN, I didn’t feel much satisfaction.  So I wrote the following letter to the editor of the county news paper.. This is the first time in my life I’ve written a letter to the editor. It feels good. I feel like I’m going the distance to warn the people not to sell their water rights to a bottling company. Here’s the letter:

Hello, Friends –

As a resident of Lawrence County who has been working in Pulaski for 10 years, I have been studying the water situation in Giles county, and beyond, for a number of years. There is a disturbing new trend going on around the world — the waters of water-rich areas are being bought, bottled, transported and sold by corporate firms, draining local area aquifers for sale elsewhere. This privatization of natural resources can create disaster with the drinking water of local communities.

Only very recently, Campbellsville Spring was in danger of being sold to a company, but a few brave folks kept that from happening for the time being. Right now, the town of Minor Hill is close to making a deal to sell their underground waters to a bottling company contracting with local officials to drill a well, in order to address the local water supply problem. If water is found, the agreement will be a trade-off of residents’ water rights, in return for the same water to be sold back to Minor Hill’s citizens. The following are a few talking points concerning what has happened in other places, where the waters have been privatized:

Points for citizens of Minor Hill, TN, concerning the sale of water to Amnisos — a bottling company:

1. The water in the Giles County watershed is a natural resource in-place since the beginning of time. When large quantities of water are removed from an aquifer, it is not replenished by seasonal rains.
2. Most of the streams and creeks in Giles County are either polluted, or are on the Seriously Compromised list. If the “sweet water” from underground is removed, it leaves the toxins in the water above ground more concentrated.
3. Have local residents — the voting public — been made aware of both the pros and cons of this proposal?
4. Small towns with good water all over the world have been dealing with the issue of water privatization. Here are some of the problems that residents have to deal with, after their waters have been privatized:

• The Pacific island nation of Fiji sold its water to a bottling company of the same name. Now, after years of having their water transported far away, 51% of Fiji’s population does not have access to clean drinking water. Waterborne illnesses are now rampant on the island.

•  Atlanta, GA sold the water rights to Lake Lanier to the Coca-Cola Company. During the last three- year drought, when Atlanta residents were on very strict water rations, Coca-Cola Co. refused to stop taking water in abundance. Everyone reading this knows someone who has had to truck their water during a recent drought. Dry wells were a fact all over Giles County. Once we start removing large volumes of water from underground, expect dry wells to become more of a problem.

• Towns that were promised local jobs from water companies in the past, have found that the bottling plants are highly automated, and do not provide the many job opportunities that were promised.

• Please protect future generations from want, and keep local waters in the hands of the local people. The water is part of our commonwealth, not to be sold to private companies for their enrichment.

• Many small towns have traded water rights for well-digging, and have then found that the bottling companies wind up selling the water for a high price, while paying relatively little for it.

• Even with a contract clause stating that the city of Minor Hill is to have first rights to buy the well, should the company decide to sell, Minor Hill may not have time to raise enough funds, and the water rights will be out of local control forever.

• This is not just an issue for residents of Minor Hill alone, it is a problem that could eventually affect us all. We must find alternative solutions.

 
*** An Idea ***

There is so much musical talent in this area that I often wonder if it’s due to something in the water. Why not have a few fundraising concerts/festivals, invite some noted musicians and songwriters to perform, and call it WATER AID? This could be a source of funds to purchase the much-needed well for the city of Minor Hill, keeping the local waters in the hands of the community.
Sincerely,

Bernice Davidson

Bernice discovered a resource in Keepers of The Waters; an organization dedicated to the preservation of water through community-based, art driven projects.  Betsy Damon founded Keepers in 1991, with the assistance of the Hubert Humphrey Institute in Minnesota and has since done numerous art installations and performances around the globe.  She was also awarded the Top Honor Award from the Waterfront Center in Washington, D.C in 1998.

The website can be viewed at Keepers of The Water.

Dear Readers of Global Rivers Blog,

I wanted to just introduce myself in a short message. My name is Dharmaja and I will be doing some research and writing for the blog. I am very happy to be able to help and honored to have been asked.

Please look out for an upcoming post on Keepers of the Waters, sharing the amazing work of Betsy Damon to heal the waters of the world!!!

If you haven’t already, please sign up for the RSS feed and receive a notification whenever a new post goes up!

Many Thanks, Dharmaja Maldonado

Talking Points for the City of Minor Hill, TN
Concerning the sale of water to Amnisos, a water bottling company.

1. The water in the Giles County watershed is a resource that has been in place since time immemorial. Large quantities of water removed from the aquifer are not replenished by seasonal rains!

2. Many of the streams and creeks in Giles County are either polluted or are on the seriously compromised list. If the underground “sweet water” is removed, more concentrated toxins remain in the water above ground.

3. Has the public been made aware of both the pros and cons of this proposal?

4. All over the world, small towns with good water have been dealing with this new issue of water privatization. Here are some of the problems that the citizens have to deal with once the water has been bought up.

a)  The island of Fiji sold its water to a bottling company with the same name. Now, after years of having their water transported elsewhere, 51% of Fiji’s population does not have access to clean drinking water. Waterborne illnesses are now rampant on this island.

b)  The city of Atlanta sold the water rights of Lake Lanier to the Coca-Cola Company. During the latest three year drought, when every citizen was on very strict water rations, the Coca-Cola Company refused to stop taking water in abundance. I’m sure everyone in this room knows someone who has had to truck their water during the recent drought. We have dealt with dry wells all over the county. The underground water is all connected. Once we start removing large quantities of drinking water, expect dry wells to become more of a problem.

c)  Towns that have been promised jobs from water companies in the past have found that the bottling plants are highly automated and do not provide the many job opportunities they were promised.

5. Please protect future generations and keep the water in the hands of the people. The water is part of our “common wealth” and is not to be sold to private, outside companies.

Did you ever feel this? You get called to a meeting by a small group of elders. People whom, if you could pick a person in your life that exhibits profound generousity, good sense, talent and other virtures, these three people would be it. So they call you to a small meeting and they tell you about the bottling company that lies in wait to buy, for nearly nothing, the water rights of a lively and free water spring feed about 30 miles from your home. I gulped and said yes, knowing that there would probably come a time when I’d have to speak amongst strangers about their water system. This deal was aborted, but the same agent shows up in a neighboring town, which is now in the final stages of signing the water rights away… You are asked to take action…

These three elders supported me by helping to get in touch with people who could help me get up to speak about about the water issues in my area. Renee Hoyes from The TN Clean Water Network was invaluable in helping me craft The Talking Points which we presented at the Minor Hill City Council last night. (The talking points will be in a following blog.)

It had been weeks of studying the fact that Minor Hill needs jobs and that the people of Minor Hill have been promised a re-opening of their factory and a six person work force. The Mayor himself told me a well and water treatment plant would cost two million dollars. He asked me how I would solve the problem? It took me a good week to come up with the solution: Art saving the day.

Why don’t we find a celebrity who would come out for the water and we could put on a Water Aid type event taking a cue off of a hero to the farmers, Wilie Nelson. Who, incidentally, will be the first person I ask to sing for the water.

If you are a talented singer song writer or know of one that would come out and do a benefit to keep the water rights in the hands of the people, send in your message to us here.

I want to thank my students who came out with courage and pluck to have my back while I spoke for the water. Thanks Guys I love ya.