Baltimore poised to become first major city to ban privatization of water

[Aegon]

http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environ...to-ban-the

Baltimore is poised to become the largest U.S. city to prohibit the privatization of its water and sewer system.

If the City Council approves the measure before it on Monday, it would be put on the ballot for voters in November, The Baltimore Sun reports.

The effort would ward off private operators who have attempted to make inroads into the city's water system.

“I have always been a proponent of retaining our city’s assets, which is why I am completely opposed to the privatization of Baltimore’s water system,” City Council President Bernard Young said in a statement to the Sun. “Access to clean and affordable water should be looked at as a basic human right.”
The measure is also backed by Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh (D).

“I’m delighted that the City Council is supportive of my earlier efforts to safeguard Baltimore City’s water system and require that it is always operated in the best interests of those who rely on it, and for generations to come,” Pugh said in a statement to the Sun.

French company Suez Environment lobbied the local government last year to take over its water system.

Baltimore's move would make it the first city in the country to amend its charter in order to keep its water and sewer systems publicly owned.

[vorlon13]

Um . . .


er . . .


uh . . .


Flint, Michigan ??

[Minimalist]

Flint's problems arose from a criminal governor appointing a scumbag manager to try to save money.  He did this by trying to poison people.

It had nothing to do with a private company.

[vorlon13]

Um . . .


er . . .


uh . . .


my point.

[Jackalope]

What exactly prevents criminal corporate malfeasance of that sort that doesn't apply to government entities?

[vorlon13]

I'm still not making myself clear.

Neither alternative is much of an assurance with an EPA asleep at the wheel.

http://time.com/4190643/flint-water-cris...edman-epa/

If Susan Hedman was a man, I'd be advocating warming up a log chipper. Since she's a she, I'm now contemplating what sort of sexism I'm exhibiting that is constraining me from recommending the same outcome for her . . .

[Minimalist]

Um . . .


er . . .


uh . . .


my point.

I wasn't sure where you were going with that.

Neither alternative is much of an assurance with an EPA asleep at the wheel.

I wish they were asleep at the wheel.  What they are actually doing is deliberately poisoning people in the interests of corporate profits.

[brewer]

Never heard of privatizing a city water supply before.

[Minimalist]

It has its own wiki page.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_priv...es#Atlanta

[vorlon13]

Um . . .


er . . .


uh . . .


my point.

I wasn't sure where you were going with that.

Neither alternative is much of an assurance with an EPA asleep at the wheel.

I wish they were asleep at the wheel.  What they are actually doing is deliberately poisoning people in the interests of corporate profits.

And that was Obama's EPA. My outrage is considerable. Last line of defense for those kids in Flint was the feds EPA and they punted it totally. Makes me think clean, pure water is more of a political talking point than an actual goal. Not sure why this seeming criminal malfeasance could have occurred during a Dem administration otherwise.

It definitely blurs the distinction between the current administration and the one prior.