Public vs Private

1. Water: Public vs. Private
by Andrew Morgan

2. A few water facts
• 3% of water on earth is fresh water.
• 30 billion gallons of ground water is
pumped daily for consumption.
• 92 gallons are used to manufacture a car.
• 2-7 barrels used per one barrel of oil.
• One microchip = 8 gallons of water.

3. Public water
• Water that is not privately owned, such as
municipal water supply.
• Tap water, shower water, sprinkler systems.
Basically, what you pay your water bill for.

4. Private Water
• Water in a glass or plastic bottle and sold
for profit. This includes drinking water,
carbonized water, mineral water, distilled
water, etc.
• 3 largest corporations that own private
water are Nestle, Pepsi, and Coca-Cola.

5. Sources of Private
Water
• Most bottled water comes from public
sources.
• This includes reservoirs, lakes, and rivers.
• It is bottled then sold as a “pure” or “safe”
alternative to tap water.
• Companies that sell bottled water now must
include the source on the label.

6. The Business Side
• In many cases, private water companies hold monopolies in
poor or developing nations, since most don’t have access to
safe public sources.
• In industrialized or rich nations, there are only minor
differences between private and public water since public
sources are tested many times per day for toxins and
pollutants. It is impossible for the FDA to ensure the safety of
billions of bottles of water.
• For many people, bottled water is like fast food, it’s a
convenient “on-the-go” way to stay hydrated.

7. Dangers of Private
Water
• Since bottled water comes mostly in plastic bottles,
it is a environmental concern. Plastic bottles
usually wind up on beaches, riversides, and in the
oceans.
• Plastic is made from refined oil. When left in the
heat for extended periods of time, toxic chemicals
called styrene and phthalates can contaminate
bottled water making it unsafe to drink.

8. Dangers of Public
Water
• Depending on where you live, public water sources
are both safe and unsafe. In areas where natural
gas drilling takes place, ground water is highly
contaminated and can actually be set on fire.
• Without some sort of filtering, no amount of testing
can ensure the safety of public water sources.
Many people use filters on their faucets and
pitchers.

9. Conclusion
• Water is essential for the sustainability of
life. However a person gets it or prefers to
get it is up to them.
• Water is more precious than oil, but it is
wasted and polluted more.

10. Sources
• 2009 Documentary film “Tapped.” Directed
by Stephanie Soechtig and Jason Lindsey.
• 2009 Documentary film “Blue Gold: World
Water Wars.” Directed by Sam Bozzo.
• 2010 Documentary film “GasLand.”
Directed by Josh Fox.
• Wikipedia article “Water privatization.”