1.4- Water's Price Is Right

Question 1

how many people lack access to clean water?

Answer 1

1.2 billion

Question 2

how much money is spent each year worldwide in an effort to improve water supplies and sanitation?

Answer 2

$30 billion

Question 3

What is the definition of the word “commodity”?

Answer 3

More generally, a product which trades on a commodity exchange.

Question 4

What are some possible pitfalls of water companies?

Answer 4

• they are a feature of a capitalist economy
• they may not deliver water and manage water supplies in a safe and cost effective way
• privatisation can mean that profits come before people
• TNCs don’t have the same vested interests as local people

Question 5

What are some pitfalls of consumers?

Answer 5

• sometimes make excessive use or return “grey water” in an unfit condition. e.g. farming leading to eutrophication of supplies or industry discharging pollution - so water is not safe for others to use
• too much demand for lower prices and efficiency can prevent reinvestment and continued supply.

Question 6

who do water companies subsidise and exploit?

Answer 6

they subsidise the rich and exploit the poor

Question 7

In which country is the Guayas river located?

Answer 7

Ecuador (in Guayaquil, the capital city with a population of two million)

Question 8

What sources of pollution affect the Guayas river?

Answer 8

• untreated domestic and industrial wastewater
• petroleum laden discharges from shipping
• pesticides and fertilisers from farming

Question 9

How many children were poisoned with hepatitis A in May 2005 as a result of the pollution in the Guayas river?

Answer 9

158 children

Question 10

up to how many people can 1 barrel of water be shared between in the slums of Guyaquil?

Answer 10

600-800 people are forced to share 1 drum of water

Question 11

how much can water lorries purchase a barrel of water for?

Answer 11

$4

Question 12

how much do water vendors sell one barrel for, from door to door?

Answer 12

up to $1600

Question 14

what problems can people face when relying on water from barrels sold by street vendors?

Answer 14

• they cannot afford it, they can go up to two days without water
• when it does arrive it can be contaminated , e.g. with e.coli

Question 15

How much do water vendors make per day?

Answer 15

£3.20 (£339/year)

Question 17

what have some commentators dubbed water as?

Answer 17

‘the lubricant of development’

Question 18

what are water vendors forced to do?

Answer 18

• provide water for homes without any water supply at all
• wake before dawn to fill 25 litre jerry cans
• most will carry 14 at a time (350KGs)
• the roads are dirt tracks, with lots of potholes and sewers running down the middle

Question 19

what are the problems of water insecurity related to?

Answer 19

• accessibility: having a water supply and distribution network
• access: freedom to use or income to buy water in a particular location
• usage: entitlement to, and understanding of, water use and health issues

Question 20

What five parameters does the water poverty index (WPI) use?

Answer 20

• resources
• access
• capacity
• use
• environment

Question 21

what are some examples of vocabulary for moral issues?

Answer 21

• desperate measures
• extortionate prices
• struggling
• power relationships
• affordability
• culpable
• deceitful

Question 22

who has power over the poor people?

Answer 22

• the rich
• high power TNCs that control the water supplies and exploit the poor
• the government; privatising the water supply and neglecting to give economic help to poorer people

Question 27

how does water become a commodity?

Answer 27

when it becomes something that people buy and trade rather than an easily accessible natural resource. when it is something that people need/want and are willing to pay for it