OneWorld.net (U.S.)

OneWorld.net's take: This documentary chronicles a Michigan community's battle for affordable access to water, a resource that grew unbearably expensive after it was privatized to cope with the town's severe economic downturn.

• Great Lakes, Michigan. © wishymom (flickr)Click here to view a trailer of The Water Front, a documentary by Liz Miller.

• "In the United States, 86 percent of people get their household water services from a public utility," writes Food and Water Watch. When private companies assume control of local water sources, however, many communities have gotten "worse service at a higher cost than most public utilities," continues the international rights monitor. Visit Food and Water Watch to read more about private vs. public water's impact on people, the environment, and pocketbooks.

The Water Front Shows Fight for Access to Water Here in the United States

From: The Water Front, Food & Water Watch  

September 29, 2008 - New York City, Washington D.C. and Detroit, Michigan -- Around the world, a battle is escalating around one of our most precious natural resources. Corporations are buying up the rights to water sources, turning it into a commodity and controlling its use by the people and ecosystems that have always depended on it. From Africa to South America - and even in the United States - companies are pushing to privatize water, squeezing profits from it at the expense of those who need it most.

Earlier this summer, the U.S Congress's House Judiciary Committee approved the Great Lakes Compact, an agreement between the 8 states of the Great Lakes Basin, which lays out takings guidelines from major water supplies in that area for use by large-scale projects and private enterprise. Yet the exceptions outlined in the Compact fail to incorporate the Public Trust doctrine that protects Great Lakes basin waters from private export and sale.

Even communities close to the Great Lakes may not be able to rely on steady and affordable water access, as the citizens of Highland Park, Michigan recently learned. In spite of having a direct water intake to the Great Lakes basin and what was once the largest water plant in the world, Highland Park residents have had to fight a years-long battle to protect their access to water. With a collapsed economy and years of financial mismanagement, the city - composed mostly of elderly and low-income citizens - has scrambled to find solutions to its water crisis. This struggle is highlighted in Liz Miller's award-winning film The Water Front.

"The Water Front is about water, but it also touches on the very essence of our democratic system," said Liz Miller, the film's director. "The film presents a community in crisis but it also presents the powerful enactment of local participation in finding solutions to the problems of our times. My objective in making "The Water Front" was to encourage more people to think about where the water we drink comes from, who is in charge of making decisions about this shared resource, and how to ensure everyone has access to water. I wanted to show the importance of involving residents in decisions that impact their lives."

"The story of the citizens of Highland Park and their struggle for water access is one that should never have to be told in America," said Wenonah Hauter, executive director of the consumer advocacy group Food & Water Watch, a sponsor of the film's fall tour. "In reality, though, it is repeated in cities across the country. As infrastructure crumbles and communities find themselves unable to fund necessary fixes, more and more cities and towns are turning to privatization. But over and over these communities find themselves up the proverbial creek - with long contracts that aim for profits, not better service. As regular people pay more and more for their water without ever seeing an improvement, the question of who controls their water - and how - is ever more relevant. The Water Front will show citizens who face similar problems that they are not alone, and will inspire people to organize, taking control of local water back into local hands."

The Water Front will commence a tour of 40 cities around the Great Lakes region when it opens on September 26 at Margrove College in the Madame Cadillac Dining Room at 8425 W McNichols Road at 6:30 pm. Experts and activists from Highland Park and Food & Water Watch will be on hand as panelists to discuss how these issues are locally relevant following the screening.

For more information about The Water Front go to www.waterfrontmovie.com or www.foodandwaterwatch.org/water/films/the-water-front.