Plumbing the Rights
Programme script

Will current methods of managing water be able to cope under ever more extreme weather conditions?

Professor Fatima Meere
"Water is an essential lifeblood we must have water".

Rajendra Singh [pictured left]
"Water is a common resource, water is our life".

Christina Manqele
"I need water because you cannot just close off the water because God give us the water".

For more than a billion people, or one in six of us, life is a daily struggle for water.

80% of these people live in the countryside where some - quite literally have to fight for every drop.

There's a simple explanation - they are the poorest of the poor always at the end of the queue for water.

A growing desperation - as well as a growing awareness of their rights - has sparked off a groundswell movement in the shantytowns and villages of the developing world.

Cut off by poverty from access to water people representing the poorest in society are getting organised to fight for a right to water.
It is a fight that they intend to take Japan as world leaders gather for the third world water forum.

These people are demanding to be heard - they are calling for a right to water.

Title - PLUMBING THE RIGHTS
In 15 of India's 26 States bone deformities are becoming an increasingly common sight. This is has been proved to be a direct result of drinking groundwater that's contaminated with high levels of flouride. Discoloured teeth are also a symptom of fluorosis. In small quantities flouride is beneficial to dental health, but too much is poisonous.

Over 66 million people including 7 million children are becoming crippled because overpumping has drained the water table so much that it has become polluted with natural fluorides from deep in the earth.

Maguben
"Due to this drinking water problem I have difficulty in walking, difficulty in sitting, difficulty in laying on bed and when I lie on the bed during the night I cant sleep properly because of the joint pain."

This village in Gujarat State in North West India has recently been connected to a pipeline for bringing clean water all the way across the State from the Narmada river, but there is rarely any water in these pipes.

Ranchod Bhai
"Since we have no alternative source of water for drinking purpose, we have to depend on this water containing high levels of flourides, this has affected every individual in the village."

In India fluorosis is a relatively recent problem. Modern technologies which drain water from the ground without taking care to replace it increase the risk of fluoride contamination. Dependence on drilling and pumping groundwater has often caused the neglect of traditional systems of water management.

These ancient stepwells are vivid reminders of the importance rainwater held to the people of the past.

Bunker Roy - Barefoot College
"You know hundreds of years ago when there was no engineer coming onto the scene, what did people do, they collected rainwater, they used it for domestic drinking and irrigation purposes and they did that as a natural way of life."

Gourisankar Ghosh - UN Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council
"It is really the modern technology which has taken away the rainwater harvesting from us because earlier before the whole distribution system started, people did nothing but catching water from rain".

Whilst in some parts of India communities have never abandoned the old ways, in other areas where they were neglected and seen as backward, people are now tapping back into this ancient wisdom - rainwater harvesting is now undergoing a major revival spearheaded by grassroot communities.

By resurrecting traditional water harvesting systems rainwater can be channelled back into the ground to help recharge the wells.

Bunker Roy
"It is as cost effective or maybe more cost effective to collect rainwater for drinking in brackish water areas, which are problem areas of iron and flouride than bringing water from hundreds of miles away through piped water supply schemes."

Here in coastal Gujarat the overextraction of groundwater has caused salt water to intrude into the water table rendering the water undrinkable. But the people have found a solution:

Catching water from every rooftop available and channeling it into underground storage tanks, the people of Mithivirdy have been able to secure themselves a clean supply of drinking water.

For women and children in particular it's made a huge difference. Nafisa Barot runs the development organisation Utthan which works with communities to help identify their needs, starting with their needs for water.

Nafisa and lady talking interview
"she is saying that before that women had to walk for very long distances, and half our women would have been dead by now you know if they didn’t have these water tanks, so the situation is getting worse and worse day by day."

"But they were also saying that ok this is the first step - now this has helped them in terms of accessing water for drinking purpose and other, but they need much more water and so they were saying that they need to build a checkdam which they have planned, a number of other water resources that they want to build so they were talking about that and that needs to also be done."

In Northern India in the state of Rajasthan the tribal people of Sariska live high in the National Park. They used to spend all day everyday walking 6 kilometres down a steep hill in searing heat to fetch water.

But recently they have transformed their lives by building johads, traditional earthen banks which trap the rainwater. Like an oasis in a desert, this johad is still holding surface water in the heat of mid May.

Pravan Kraska
"before we had to walk for hours to get water. There was no peace in our lives - now we have peace in our lives. The children can go to school, the elders are more relaxed and women can get on with daily chores in their own sweet time, we're not rushing any more."

More than four and a half thousand johads have now been built by local communities in the arid Alwar district of Rajasthan where deforestation resulted in the rivers drying up. And a modern day miracle has now taken place. 5 dead rivers have come back to life, of which 3, like the Ruparel, are now flowing all year round.

Kanhaiyalal Gujar - Tarun Bharat Sangh
"Where many small johads are built at various places in the catchment, the underground water gets recharged and flows back into the main source of the river. We came to understand this but this was the people's traditional knowledge - and we had complete confidence in the people to make small stops or check dams according to their traditional knowledge - And they themselves feel a sense of ownership and its no government or organisation - it's the people that do this work with their own understanding - they do it well and the rivers are flowing once again".

But despite the visible benefits, there has recently been a worrying turn of events. The villagers of Lava Ka Baas invested thousands of hours and the equivalent of US$6,000 of their own savings into building this johad on the tributary of the Ruparel river.

The johad became their lifeline - making barren land productive once again. But when the johad filled with water following the rains in 2001 a major row erupted: the Rajasthan irrigation department ordered the release all the water in the johad arguing it was too big, and that every drop of water comes under the jurisdiction of the irrigation department. A local campaign of resistance came to national attention.

Village leader - Giriraj prasad
"When the government came to break this johad we got such a shock as if they had come to kill our child - we regard this as greater than our offspring. A child can be untrustworthy but this can't be sir. When a child grows up he may bring in bread or he may not, what can one do - but this is a means that can fill the stomach as we can farm with its water. So when the government came to break this I had such a feeling of hurt, such a shock as if it had come to kill my family. I was ready to kill or die for this. We'll die or we'll kill but we won't let them break the johad."

In the nearby city of Alwar, the local authorities had agreed to an interview with Earth Report about the controversy over the Johad. We wanted to ask why they should be penalising villagers for creating their own water supply, but when we arrived at the collector's office he failed to appear, and left a message saying he was not available for comment.

Rajendra Singh - Tarun Bharat Sangh
"Any government does not have the right of owning water. The water is not a property, water is a resource, water is a common resource, In the history never any king any government can not claim the property right of water but our government says this is water of the irrigation department. This is really very sad, but our people give the answer to the government. The real answer. The people says this water is not yours not ours, this water is nature!"

In rural India, communities are showing that they can harness their commitment and energy to create water supplies according to local traditional wisdom. And they are calling on governments to work with them rather than against them.

Kanhaiyalal Gujar - TBS
"Based on the experience due to this work, these policies the people that make these laws, our plea remains that any decisions that are made, any policies that are formulated must take into consideration peoples rights. They must have a sense of rights. People's cooperation and feelings must be involved in the process. And peoples traditional knowledge so that these policies can be more successful".

How far is meeting the basic need for water a basic human right?
In some urban areas of South Africa being poor can literally mean being cut off from a lifeline supply of water - People are coming to see this as a denial of the most basic human right - the right to life.

Chatsworth Flats - Durban, South Africa
This is the frontline of the unreported war over water - security guards and armed police turn up to cut off residents who can't pay. The residents accuse them of being heavy handed.

Jooma Moola - Resident Bayview, Chatsworth
"We are getting hurt, we don't know why! we are not criminals, why must the protection services come with guns like they're coming for a war here- are you looking at criminals, are you looking at criminals, I don't think so, we are humans we live here, we are not animals, irrespective of our incomes and whatever - these are the flats - they're low income people."

Chatsworth is a township outside Durban housing over three hundred thousand people. The industries this community used to depend on have closed down, so people are now finding it almost impossible to get work. They are also coming into conflict with the authorities over their right of access to water.

Christina Manqele is a single mother, struggling to bring up her own four children plus 3 others in her care in a tiny two room flat.
After 12 years of service for the same employer, Christina found herself without a job and seriously ill, needing major surgery.
She began to fall behind in her water electricity and rent payments to the point where she now owes the council roughly US$2000
In January 2000 her water was cut off.

She began to fall behind in her water electricity and rent payments to the point where she now owes the council roughly US$2000.
In January 2000 her water was cut off.

Christina Manqele
"That man came now to close the water, I haven't got water after that I haven't got food too, and then I'm thinking one way may be to sell my body there, I'm thinking food again to I'm thinking I can't got there to prostitute me I'm old. All night I can't sleep and high blood pressure is high - I'm thinking for the people now if I see the people now she's got water she's got food, what about me, why did god punish me - I'm asking all that question now, whats wrong now what are you doing."

Having tested the generosity of her poverty-stricken neighbours, Christina resorted to using water from a nearby polluted stream.

An independent analysis carried out for the court case found this water to contain high counts of bacteria from untreated sewage that cause waterborne diseases such as cholera.

Christina Manqele
"I'm thinking now whole night what I must do now if my neighbour she don’t want to give a bucket of water and then I wake up in the morning and I found this place now, I'm crying and early in the morning I saw this place I'm pushing myself there, push myself I'm cutting all this thing now, and then I make a place now to come here to pick up this water here, I need to bath the children and washing and things."

In a unique piece of legislation, South Africa's celebrated New Water Act gives each household the right by law to a basic allowance of 6 thousands litres of free water per month.

In view of this the community rallied round and helped Christina to make an urgent application to the High Court to get her water reconnected.

But it wasn't until three months later that she finally got to argue the case in court. In the meantime she still had no water. In desperation she had decided to reconnect her own water. Despite the Act, the authorities say this is against the law.

Christina Manqele
"That's why me now I go back there to open the water because I need the water because for the cholera I'm scared for the cholera and then I need the water because me my condition, she want drink water every time because like a drip, I haven't got a spleen, and I'm worried for the children, the suffering of the children, that's why now if I never did that thing now I'm going to die I can't stay without water."

Partly as a result of having reconnected her own water illegally, Christina lost her case. Today she is still forced to use illegal water as she struggles to pay off her bill.

As more and more households have their water cut off, the community is now taking the law into their own hands. They have become experts at reconnecting people's water.

Brandon Pillay
"Basically what's happened is inside this piping, as we're going to open it now, we're going to undo it, there's a copper disc that's placed inside of this pipe and that actually shuts off the water so what we do is we just try to open up this pipe, and on opening this pipe we just remove the disc and then we have water. Ok and this is the copper disc and we have water already so we just put the pipe back in and open up the main and water comes out"

"Cutting off somebody's water is totally inhumane and its definitely against the constitutional right to basic services, I mean people can't afford to pay and you can't force them to pay and so people are forced to reconnect illegally and they're forced to actually go to bed knowing that they're using illegal electricity and water. Its something that they have to do because they have children and this is a basic necessity for people in this community."

Orlean Naidoo
"Out of desperation people are reconnecting their water the council can call them thieves but obviously people have become so desperate that they can't do without water - the story of free water is now going around for about 6 months now but people still don't have water the water's cut off. So there is no free water for the poor. The rule is that you pay off your arrears before you get water so what kind of free water service is that - when people can't afford to pay their daily bill, how are they going to pay off their arrears to get their free water - so that's just a false hope for people."

So what value is a law that guarantees a right to water but only if the costs are fully recovered?

Ronnie Kasrils - Minister for Water SA
"There must be payment for municipal services - if there isn't then how can a municipality function it can't at all, but the municipality must follow through my regulations and in terms of our water act they've got to give due notice to a community they've got to do everything possible to ensure that they're collecting the rates and they have a mandatory right if they cut off water to ensure that that community has a certain degree of access even if it means installing standpipes in the streets."

But the people here claim that they have been given no warning or basic access and that they are fined every time they reconnect themselves illegally.

Brandon Pillay
"As a community we've rallied together and now said that we would reconnect the water every time that they disconnect so it means that every time we reconnect they also charge us a fee for illegally reconnecting, so it means that on every month, on a monthly basis and sometimes maybe twice a month, they would come to check if you're still using illegal water and they'd cut you off and then you'd reconnect and they cut you off and you reconnect. They haven't cut off water for a month or so because we went on a major march against the council and I think that’s the reason they've been stagnant in the process of cutting off water recently."

Further North of Durban, along the Dolphin Coast, thousands of people in the poorest townships now have their water supplied a private multinational. A French company, SAUR International has been granted a 30 year concession to run the water services.
But here, the poor are cut off from the start. These standpipes prevent people from accessing water until they pay 60 rand for a card - they then pay extra for water on top of that. Despite promises of free water, many people simply can't afford the cards.

Nora Nsuza - Councillor
"The card is a problem because now, because right now we receive the subsidy is over - so they need to go and buy a card for 60 rand without water - so that causes a lot of problem they are complaining every day and some people really do not have this money - now they fetch water from the river you see."

With recent increases in the price of water, people are forced to risk using water from a nearby stream:

Dr. David Hemson
"Now there is a situation where people are actually very dissatisfied because the tariffs have risen really quite appreciably in the past process there are a hundred and one reasons why this should happen, but critics of privatisation said there we are that’s exactly what will happen and it has happened. And the 6 kilolitre free water to the urban communities has not taken place, so people have to pay for every litre of water that they get, and when I made a study of the community recently I found that you know the poorest of the poor were going back to the polluted streams to be able to get water not only for washing but also for drinking, so its hardly an ideal situation."

Nora Nsuza - Local councilor
"The honeymoon now is over, we are starting to feel the pain and now the company is starting to charge us increment and there is a lot of grievance.

The company running the Dolphin Coast water - Saur International - is based here in Paris, France - home to three of the world's largest water multinationals. But Saur argues that it is not responsible for the increased tariffs:

SAUR
"We are not making more profits after this increasing in prices, we had to face overcosts, overcosts coming from reasons out of our reach such as inflation, such as the bulk water price that we buy and such as a decrease in urban development so you have reasons which are linked to really the local life - and the second point is how do you reflect these increasing costs into the tariff, and this is a political decision - I mean that the sharing of the efforts between the poorest of the poor and the medium class has to be decided by the political power."

The entry of the private sector into water management in the developing world is proving to be highly controversial, but is being embraced by many governments as a way of mobilising finance:

Ronnie Kasrils - Minister for Water, SA
"I want to make it clear right from the start - and I say so with my socialist background and my involvement in the National Liberation revolutionary struggle, that the private sector must come to the party and our position in South Africa is to create an enabling environment for the private sector to participate, yes in water as well as in other areas of our economy and our needs because they help us to mobilise the investments required massive investments if we are to deal with the water and sanitation backlog.

Orlean Naidoo
It is ridiculous to privatise water especially when it comes to poor people privatisation is a profit making system so how can you make profit out of poor people? People can't afford to pay for water services and now if you privatise it the prices are definitely going to increase, people are gonna starve and die they are going to die of thirst - as it is people can't afford to pay for water and yet the price is low yet they can't afford the unemployment rate is high and people don't have money to pay, if we privatise then people are definitely going to die.

There's been a lot of dramatic talk about water wars between nations, but the real conflict is an internal one that repeats itself a million times a day, and these cases represent just the tip of the iceberg. World leaders meeting at the 3rd World Water Forum in Japan, will again be pressed to endorse the right of every human being to an adequate supply of water. But it won't mean much unless the wherewithal is found to make that right a meaningful one - otherwise people will still be forced to steal to survive.

Christina Manqele
"I'm decided now to go back there again to open the water. I go myself again and open the water because I'm telling now if I open the water now I'm open I need the water because God will give us water. It's bad enough for the light - I'll take a stick, I can burn a fire there, but for the water where you get the water now, if you close the water they never give even a drop of water. I said ok never mind if you want to close the water give me a drop a little bit left so I can drink a cup if I'm feeling thirsty - to drip cup it's ok she don't want and then me I'm open again there."
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END CREDITS
With Special thanks to:

World Water Forum 3 / World Water Council
Daiko
Tarun Bharat Sangh
Times of India
Utthan
Barefoot College
Durban Concerned Citizens Forum
Anna Weekes
Ashwin Desai
Malaya Pradhan
Jitesh Odedra
Centre for Science and Environment, India

Additional Footage
Rajoo Barot
Ben Cashdan
Barefoot College

Music
Preisner
Mr Dan

Technical Support
Kevin King

Camera/Editor Rob Sullivan
Produced and Directed by Amber Delahooke and Rob Sullivan