Water

Donnachadh McCarthy , The Guardian, August 11, 2009 - The BBC has been accused of wasting public money and creating unnecessary environmental damage by spending nearly half a million pounds a year on bottled water. Responding to a freedom of information request from the Guardian, the public broadcaster said it spent £406,000 annually on large bottles for its water coolers.

In addition, BBC staff are allowed to order bottled water for the organisation's hospitality events. The BBC refused to reveal how much it did spend on bottled water at the 103,000 events it held last year, claiming the cost of finding out was more than the Freedom of Information Act required.

Bottled water can also be ordered by staff for internal meetings, provided a meeting lasts more than two hours. The broadcaster said it was assessing the "health issues" of switching from bottled to mains-fed water.

For more information and analysis on the proposed Public Private Partnership for Winnipeg's water utility please read the following reports from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives:

Myths and Facts about the City’s Business Plan for a Municipal Utility

Access the report here

FAST FACTS: Proposed Corporate Utility could be Costly to Winnipeggers

Access the report here

Click here for more reports

Patrick White, Globe and Mail July 20, 2009 - To privatize or not to privatize, that is the question.

Or is it?


Many of the activists hanging around Winnipeg City Hall say so. Their placards and stickers warn that a controversial city plan to partner with the private sector to upgrade and maintain Winnipeg's outdated water system is tantamount to selling off one of its most important assets.

Much more worrisome, they say, is that the Winnipeg water fight could be an early skirmish in a larger push to privatize and commodify water resources right across Canada.

"It may seem like a small decision - should the City of Winnipeg allow a public-private utility model - but it's part of a larger question that's being fought on the ground all over the world," said Maude Barlow, national chair for the Council of Canadians.

But advocates of the plan, which council will vote on Wednesday, scoff at the very mention of the P-word.