The Wealth of Water by Rathburn and Baum

Part II – The Before and After

Below are actual water bills from the month before and after Bechtel took over the Cochabamba water system.

Figure 1. Pre-privatization

Figure 2. Post-privatization

Source: The Democracy Center (http://democracyctr.org). Used with permission.

Questions

  1. Aguas del Tunari, the Bechtel subsidiary, claims that increased water consumption explains the price increase that Bolivians noticed in their water bills post-privatization. Compare the water bills above. Does the amount of water use match Aguas del Tunari’s claim?

  2. What was the percent increase in the cost of water for this household?

  3. Based on the average income for a Bolivian, what percent of their salary is dedicated to obtaining clean, fresh water?

  4. Considering that the 2006 median U.S. salary for a dual-income household is $58,472 (U.S. Census Bureau), how much would you be spending on water? What would be your reaction if this happened to you?

Go to Part III – Water and You

Originally published at http://www.sciencecases.org/water_bolivia/case2.asp

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