PAYING FOR WATER

Water has been taken for granted as an essential public health need si nce the Victorian sanitary revolution, Water has come back on to the p ublic health agenda in the United Kingdom because of recent policy cha nges and their untoward environmental and social impacts; along with w ater privatization and tough new environmental directives, there have been serious water pollution incidents, water shortages, water debt an d disconnection. Along with concern about protecting individual rights to a clean safe water supply, there is concern about the ability of n ational water resources to meet all our communities' needs, without un acceptable environmental damage. A national plan is needed for the con servation of water and protection of water resources and the environme nt; adequate central funds are needed to see that this happens. There should be greater emphasis on local water management and a key role fo r local authorities; there should be fair pricing, protection of water supplies for the poorest and most vulnerable, and a ban on water disc onnection to domestic users, on public health grounds, More research i s needed into the potential adverse health impact of people on prepaym ent meters disconnecting themselves. There is a place for water meteri ng as the most rapidly deliverable means of controlling peak demand, r educing overall consumption and avoiding a targe-scale environmentally damaging solution to supply more water. However, control of leakage o ffers the largest potential saving and is the most cost-effective mean s to protect existing water supply. We question whether private water companies, geared to maximizing profit and share dividends, can delive r a national plan for the protection and management of water resources , for the good of the environment and future generations. The public h ealth lobby must become more actively engaged in the debate about the supply, protection and price of our most precious public health asset - water.