Water Makes Money

10 to 15 years ago, a wave of privatizations of our water supply began, which since then has been propagating all over the world. Meanwhile the enduring consequences – such as slums cut off from the access to clean water and dry faucets in London – are sufficiently known. Nowadays few people talk about privatization, but rather about business concepts such as ‘private-public partnership’. In such situations, the most important thing is the capital which ‘creates’ the infrastructure through loans. However, in these days of limited public finances, budgeting competence is at least as important as the technical mastering of water management. Many communities however risk to be cheated by superior corporate groups.
The documentary “Water Makes Money” is deals with the biggest water companies and the resistance against the way that they operate. It shows how ‘money printing machines’ of the companies work, focusing on French and German cities. “Water Makes Money” has an encouraging message and shows the lessons learned by the municipalities affected by the dominance of Veolia & Co.: Water in public hands is necessary and possible!