The recent history of water privatization in the United States is scarred by underachievement and failure. During the 1990s, corporations, many of them multi-billion dollar conglomerates based overseas, persuaded communities throughout the nation to transfer control over their water systems to the private sector. The companies promised to solve the communities’ funding shortages and to address technical and organizational challenges. But the corporations, mainly European multinationals RWE, Suez and Veolia, have failed. Their disasters include maintenance problems in Atlanta, sewage spills in Milwaukee, corruption in New Orleans and political meddling in Lexington.

But, like the people of Felton, whose story we tell here, residents and leaders are standing up in cities and towns across the land and fighting the specter of water privatization. Indeed, the corporate water bubble is bursting.

However, citizens are not just pushing back against privatization. They also are pushing for the creation of a federal trust fund that would guarantee a reliable stream of money for the much-needed repair and rejuvenation of our drinking and waste water systems, which every community and every generation need and deserve.

Read below for stories of what people like you are doing to retain and strengthen local democratic control of their water resources. 

North

• Lee, MA
  

  The town of Lee now has a new wastewater treatment plant that will keep raw sewage from flowing into the Housatonic River during storms and will protect the town's water.Read more....

• Newark, NJ

  Ignorance is not bliss in Newark, New Jersey. Unconvinced by the unclear arguments for privatizing water utilities in the city, citizens set out to gather the real facts. Read more....

• Emmaus, PA
  

  The citizens of Emmaus, PA did not let a proposal to privatize water live long enough to see its first bid. Read more....

• Knox, PA

  Thanks to Knox Friends of Locally Owned Water, or Knox FLOW, the Knox City Council voted against selling the local water and wastewater systems to either of the two companies vying for it: American Water and Aqua America. Read more....

South

• Atlanta, GA
  

  Corporate promises did not translate into action in Atlanta. When the city realized United Water was not sticking to their $428 million contract, residents knew it was time to get the company out. Read more....

• Lexington, KY

  Instead of selling its Kentucky subsidiary to local users, water conglomerate RWE/American Water is looking for buyers on Wall Street. Read more...

• New Orleans, LA

  A coalition of 90 local organizations rallied massive community support in the Big Easy to defeat the world’s top two water corporations. Read more....

Midwest

• Urbana, IL

  With the water company’s customer service center located almost 1,000 miles away, it is no wonder Urbana residents are subject to unsafe water and malfunctioning fire hydrants. The community, with the mayor leading the way, is considering buying its water system from American Water, and establishing local, public accountability. Read more....

• Indianapolis, IN

  Imagine having to boil your water to make it safe to use. Most people think that just doesn’t happen anymore –– but it did in Indianapolis after the French water corporation Veolia took control of the city’s water utilities. Read more....

• Ft. Wayne, IN

  When a portion of the residents in Fort Wayne, Indiana became fed up with receiving consistently poor water services from private provider Aqua Indiana, they turned to their own public water utility for a solution. Read more....

• O’Fallon, MO

  When Sister Carol Boschert first heard that the O’Fallon city council was considering selling its public water system to a private corporation, she raised her concerns. One of the bidders for the system was Missouri–American Water, and Sister Carol had read up on the problems other communities had faced when dealing with American Water and its European parent company, RWE. Read more....
  

West

• Felton, CA
  

  Nestled in the Santa Cruz Mountains and home of the grassroots organization Felton FLOW (Friends of Locally Owned Water), the town of Felton is on the cusp of bringing its water supply under local control. Read more....

• Montara, CA
  

  Residents of the small coastal town of Montara, CA successfully purchased their water system from the largest private water company in the U.S., serving as a model for other communities across America. Read more....

• Monterey, CA
  

  Cal-Am is a big spender when it comes to politics in Monterey, California –– which is not surprising since the rate increases imposed on residents allow the company to afford it. Read more...

• Stockton, CA
  

  What may be the most notorious water privatization deal in the United States came to a close July 17, 2007 when the Stockton city council decided against appealing a judge’s ruling that its contract with OMI-Thames Water had violated California environmental law. Read more....

• Cave Creek, AZ

  Cave Creek’s water system had always been privately owned and operated. Unsatisfied with the service they were getting, and confident that local ownership and management could do better, Cave Creek set the goal of taking on ownership and management. Read more....

• Orcas Highlands, WA
  

  Never underestimate the will of a community—even a small one—to fight for local control of its water resources. Few places demonstrate this better than the tiny community of Orcas Highlands in Washington State. Read more....