TFTT Report

In the run-up to the 2015 World Water Forum, the Transnational Institute, along with four other organizations, released a report titled “Our public water future: The global experience with remunicipalization.”

The authors claim their report details the “growing waves of cities and communities worldwide” that are choosing to remunicipalize their water systems. However, the report manipulates data, misrepresents facts, and clearly misunderstands fundamental elements of the private water industry in the United States.

Throughout the 131-page report, there are plenty of so-called “facts” that just don’t add up. Here is the fifth way TNI’s report gets it wrong when it comes to water system in the U.S. Read the 4 other ways in our blog.

5. THE REPORT’S CREDIBILITY ON U.S. WATER ISSUES IS QUESTIONABLE AT BEST. 

The five groups that produced the report focus on international water issues, not those specific to the U.S. All of the groups are based overseas and focus on European or developing world water delivery. For instance, the Multinationals Observatory, based in Paris, “aims to provide online resources and in-depth investigations on the social, ecological and political impact of French transnational corporations.” And the Municipal Services Project (MSP) is a research organization that “explores alternatives to the privatization and commercialization of service provision in Africa, Asia and Latin America.”

One of the editors of the report, Emanuele Lobina, has only consulted on privatization issues in Europe and Latin America, and he routinely struggles to find a broad consensus of academics who agree with his perspective. In fact, in his introduction to the report, Lobina cited himself in 14 of the 16 footnotes. In a previous report released in partnership with Corporate Accountability International, Lobina cited himself 115 times. He is not an expert on water privatization in the U.S. and should not be considered a credible source.

Meanwhile, within the U.S., there is widespread, bipartisan support for private water models. The U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National League of Cities, the Brookings Institute, and even the President of the United States agree that public-private partnerships are a proven and important option for municipalities facing urgent water infrastructure and operation needs.