Student: Schuyler Schwartz
Graduation date: May 2015
Type: Area of Interest (double major)
Date approved: November 2012
Summary
Drinking water, as a vital life support, is one of the most debated commodities worldwide; it is sourced primarily through wells and pipes that draw from groundwater tables and aquifers. These sources are at risk for fecal, agricultural, chemical and pharmaceutical contamination, depending on the storage of the water as well as the proximity to said contaminates (Copeland, 2009). The vulnerability levels of specific water sources (determined by research) can aid people in maintaining clean drinking water; the research creates awareness of the surrounding risks. Diseases such as Giardia can cause major health problems (specifically developmental issues) but are easily solved with access to clean water (Wu, 1999). Governments, companies and small-scale organizations are working to provide more widespread clean drinking water but conflicts often arise over who is the sole controller of the water supply. In the late 1800s, industrial advancements by a private company, Compagnie Générale des Eaux (CGE), altered the control and distribution of water; those who could afford it would receive it. In 1884, the French government decided (after linking a high incidence of disease to drinking water) to provide clean drinking water to all citizens, ensuring public health. Throughout the beginning of the 20th century, municipalities and the French government disagreed over concession contracts regarding water (Pezon, 2011). Senegal, a French post-colonial country, created a multi-country Water Charter to protect and solve the problems in the Senegal River (Vick, 2006). Though aspects of their law regarding water are progressive and there are multiple efforts to increase drinking water quality, 64% of the population does not have access to clean drinking water as of 2004 (BTC, 2012). French post-colonial countries are interesting in that they made treaties determining water control of rivers and fresh water during their independence and are still developing these laws to solve new problems. As a result, their water policy is advancing but the regulation and enforcement of this policy is not benefiting the majority of the population.
As the human population rapidly increases, drinking water sources face depletion and contamination, leaving a large portion of the population without clean drinking water. Water has become a precious commodity that, in many cases, is used without regulation. Water law has become a more heated topic in recent years due to the need for and lack of clean drinking water. In writing water policy, Jenkins describes the problems of policy development as a result of “conflicting interests, invalid causal theories, political symbolism, lack of attention to detail by policy makers, and the allocation of duties and resources” (Jenkins, 2012). This pressure to control water will rise until water regulation encompasses the needs of individuals, governments, and private companies. The progression of French post-colonial countries towards a current day model of water regulation is one of the many legacies left by French colonialism.
References
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Questions
- Descriptive: What are the current legislative trends around the distribution of clean drinking water in French post colonial countries? How have their post-colonial roots influenced their laws and ideas about water?
- Explanatory: Why is there conflict around the privatization of water? Why does 65% of the population not have access to clean drinking water when there are laws on water distribution? Why has drinking water been contaminated in the past?
- Evaluative: In what ways has water policy positively or negatively impacted the current water shortage?
- Instrumental: In what ways can legislation address the shortage of clean drinking water?
Arts and humanities courses
- PHIL 215 (Philosophy and the Environment, 4 credits). Pre-approved A&H course; no justification required.
- PHIL-103-01 (Ethics, 4 credits). This course would aid me in understanding water policy through the lens of water rights. I will be able to ask questions such as "who has the right to water? Who should control clean drinking water?" in order to shape my understanding of policy making. Water distribution is an ethical question because it ties into "knowledge power" relationships. By having knowledge about water, a person is more likely to have the power in controlling that resource. Is that ethical? As water become scarce, is it fair that those without the knowledge don't get water? I plan to ask and start to answer these questions in Ethics.