Apparently, someone in Congress - and that's someone from Savannah, by the way - has put forth a bill to allow privatization of Georgia's drinking water.
No, thanks.
Why would anyone want to allow a single person to control water rights?
Of course I reacted as soon as I read the alert from One Hundred Miles.
Dear Representative Derek Mallow,
Please vote NO on HB 1146. Our coast's drinking water is precious and in short supply—especially in Effingham, Bryan, Chatham, and Liberty Counties.
HB 1146 would facilitate the privatization of our coast’s precious water supply.
Please, I ask that you vote NO on this bad bill.
HB 1146 would allow private water utilities to outcompete public water utilities, bypass consistency with local government planning, and sell their access to Georgia’s limited drinking water supply to the highest bidder.
Please consider the following potential impacts of HB 1146:
HB 1146 could set up the circumstances for developers and private water providers to overthrow responsible planning efforts that are limited by a shared public resource. Worse, HB 1146 would allow the limited public resource to be privatized by bypassing the public utility mandated by law to ensure its equitable and responsible distribution.
HB 1146 applies to the entire coast and could result in unbridled growth all in every coastal county. The bill would allow private water providers to operate like public water providers and locate points of withdrawal outside of the mapped service area, putting them in direct competition with public water providers, who are required to coordinate with local governments to accommodate growth.
These same areas would likely suffer from inadequate firefighting infrastructure. Especially because these new developments will be outside of previously planned growth areas, the burden of the new firefighting capacity necessary to protect these new communities will fall on the taxpayers.
HB 1146 is full of infrastructural holes that would ultimately increase the burden on taxpayers. The bill does not address access to sewer, even though providing water outside of local government growth priority areas will likely result in a proliferation of septic tanks to accommodate the growth; this is not a sustainable, responsible, or long-term waste water management method for higher density residential developments.
Finally, HB 1146 encourages an increase in private water providers. If a private water operator goes out of business or the private system fails, water operations will become the responsibility of the taxpayers.
If passed, access to our limited, shared drinking water supply will be granted to the highest bidder.
HB 1146 would allow private water utilities to outcompete public water utilities, bypass consistency with local government planning, and sell their access to Georgia’s limited drinking water supply to the highest bidder.
Please consider the following potential impacts of HB 1146:
HB 1146 could set up the circumstances for developers and private water providers to overthrow responsible planning efforts that are limited by a shared public resource. Worse, HB 1146 would allow the limited public resource to be privatized by bypassing the public utility mandated by law to ensure its equitable and responsible distribution.
HB 1146 applies to the entire coast and could result in unbridled growth all in every coastal county. The bill would allow private water providers to operate like public water providers and locate points of withdrawal outside of the mapped service area, putting them in direct competition with public water providers, who are required to coordinate with local governments to accommodate growth.
These same areas would likely suffer from inadequate firefighting infrastructure. Especially because these new developments will be outside of previously planned growth areas, the burden of the new firefighting capacity necessary to protect these new communities will fall on the taxpayers.
HB 1146 is full of infrastructural holes that would ultimately increase the burden on taxpayers. The bill does not address access to sewer, even though providing water outside of local government growth priority areas will likely result in a proliferation of septic tanks to accommodate the growth; this is not a sustainable, responsible, or long-term waste water management method for higher density residential developments.
Finally, HB 1146 encourages an increase in private water providers. If a private water operator goes out of business or the private system fails, water operations will become the responsibility of the taxpayers.
If passed, access to our limited, shared drinking water supply will be granted to the highest bidder.
HB 1146 is a bad bill.
I urge you to vote NO on HB 1146!
Sincerely,
Faustina
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