Sludge Watch ==> Canadian Banks say- Water is the New Oil

[Maureen Reilly]

Sludgewatch Admin:

Water is actually more important than oil.  Oil can be replaced as an energy 
source.  There is no replacement for clean water.

So maybe we should not be abusing our drinking water supplies by using 
potable water to flush waste.  It is darn difficult to get that water clean 
again.  We are flushing the ground water resources of the future generations 
out to the sea....along with a whack of industrial contamination.

.........................................................................


Hello all,

CIBC has weighed in on the privatization of water and the role private 
sector should play in infrastructure.  It is a  chilling read and 
underscores the need for the federal government to endorse the right to 
water, provide a sustainable investment package for municipalities and close 
the door forever to the notion that water belongs to those that can pay for 
it.

The article from today's Globe and Mail is pasted below, but I also 
recommend having your voices heard by writing a letter to the editor Letters 
to The Editor(Letters at globeandmail.com) or in the on-line forum here:

<http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20061127.wwater1127/EmailBNStory/Business/home>

This is especially chilling given the recently announced "Advantage Canada" 
plan by federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty that, among other things,  
strongly encourages pension funds to support P3 infrastructure projects in 
Canada.  As reported by the Canadian Press, "The Advantage Canada 
plan...included a pledge to give maximum impact to government spending 
through public-private partnerships. These so-called P3s "will also provide 
opportunities for Canadian pension funds and other investors to participate 
in infrastructure projects here in Canada rather than being forced to look 
abroad, as is often the case now," according to the finance ministry."

Best,
Susan



Water is the new oil, says CIBC
ROMA LUCIW
Globe and Mail Update
The colossal cost of fixing crumbling water infrastructure in the developed 
world has opened the door to government privatization.

Water delivery systems in the industrial world are in “dire need” of repair, 
says a report released Monday by CIBC World Markets Inc. At least one-fifth 
of America's municipal wastewater treatment facilities do not comply with 
federal regulations and in some U.S. cities, more than half of the water 
headed to consumers is lost along the way.

CIBC economist Benjamin Tal, author of the “Tapping into Water” report, 
estimates it will take “hundreds of billions of dollars” to fix dated water 
infrastructure in North America and Europe.

Federal governments are not rushing to fix the infrastructure and 
municipalities lack the means to do so. “As a result, governments are now 
much more open to the notion of privatizing their water infrastructure 
which, in turn, is providing a substantial boost to the private water 
industry,” Mr. Tal said.

“What we are witnessing here is a trend that is profoundly modifying water 
as an investment theme throughout the world.”

Canada has one of the world's largest supplies of fresh water, but has its 
own water woes. Some British Columbia residents remain under a boil-water 
advisory that first came into effect Nov. 16 when heavy rainfall triggered 
mudslides and caused runoff into the Vancouver region's reservoirs. There 
are fears that the water is contaminated with E. coli, the bacteria that 
killed seven people in Walkerton, Ont., six years ago. The bacteria entered 
the town's water supply from farm runoff, and residents had to boil or buy 
their water for seven months after that supply was tainted.

Meanwhile, the business of water is booming.
Mr. Tal sees parallels between today's water industry and the oil industry 
in its golden era, before and after the Second World War. “The market is 
paying attention,” he said. “Capital investment, deregulation, 
consolidation, and privatization of global water assets and services are 
advancing at a pace not seen before.”

In the last three years, U.S.-based water companies — as measured by the 
Bloomberg U.S. water index — have surged 150 per cent, three times the rise 
seen by companies on the S&P 500, while paying twice as much in dividends. 
International water players are doing even better, Mr. Tal said, with their 
stock values rising twice as fast as their American counterparts in the past 
year alone.

Water is an attractive investment because it is much less volatile than 
industries driven by economic cycles, Mr. Tal said. Companies that 
specialize in “water solutions” can range from pumps, pipes and valves, 
wastewater treatment, to quality testing. European companies account for 
half of the global water players, while American companies make up 36 per 
cent.

In Canada, there are few ways for investors to directly invest in H2O. 
However, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board recently launched a bid 
for a British water utility.

In order to attract private sector investment in water, municipalities are 
allowing the price of water to rise to levels that resemble full recovery 
costs. “Water prices in many industrialized countries are now rising much 
faster than inflation, and this trend will only accelerate in the coming 
years,” Mr. Tal said.

World Bank estimates suggest that outsourcing and privatization in the water 
sector are set to double in the coming five years to reach a near 40 per 
cent share of the market.

“If crumbling water infrastructures in North America and Europe provide the 
private water industry with great opportunities, the potential in the 
developing world is even greater,” Mr. Tal said.

The water investment theme is being supported by rising demand for clean 
drinking water. Global water demand is doubling every twenty years and water 
utilization rates have doubled in the past 45 years. The populations and 
economies of Asian powerhouses China and India are expanding and the 
countries are not only consuming more water, they are highly inefficient in 
their use.

Still, the CIBC report stressed that the world is not running out of water. 
The problem is that the global water supply is unevenly distributed with 
nine countries possessing 60 per cent of the world's available freshwater 
supply.

“As is the case with any other resources on earth, the main story lies in 
the developing economies, where water shortage will only worsen in the 
coming years due to rapid population growth, urbanization, climate change, 
and the fact that globalization is highly water intensive,” Mr. Tal said.



Susan Howatt
National Water Campaigner, Council of Canadians
1-800-387-7177 or 613-233-4487 ext. 239
613-761-2482 (mobile)
www.canadians.org