Firestorm of protest hits Columbia city council over possible privatization of city water, sewer

In fiery speeches to Columbia city council members, more than a dozen Columbia residents Tuesday night denounced any effort by council to allow a private company buy or lease the city’s water and sewer systems.

“Water is the new oil,” Howard Duvall told council members at a regular meeting, stressing that profit-minded companies have only one goal – to tap into the city’s lucrative revenue streams.

“Companies are accountable to shareholders –not consumers,” Elaine Cooper told council. Like many in the audience, she wore an anti-privatization badge. Hers said, “NO!” over the image of a water faucet.

“If you think privatization is efficiency, I suggest you privatize state government!” Tim Pearson told council. His badge said, “Water for people – not profits.”

“The public can’t know what is in confidentiality agreements” the city has with any private companies, Pamela Greenlawn said.

The city’s water and sewer system would be a rich prize for a private company. With some 144,000 regular household and commercial customers paying the city $124 million each year, a private company could not only use some of the annual income for its own profits, it could also leverage the revenue streams to make more money. Private company takeovers often involve layoffs to staff and slashing quality to ramp up profits.

No one spoke for privatization. The matter had become an issue only recently after The State newspaper reported late last month that city officials were formally exploring the possibility of selling or leasing the city’s water and sewage system to a private, for-profit company.

A move to solicit written expressions of interest from private companies was approved by council in open session at an early January meeting. However, that approval received virtually no publicity. Private companies expressing interest in buying or leasing the city’s system are expected to submit formal proposals later this month.

The Environmental Protection Agency has cited the city for serious violations of the Federal Clean Water Act, and the city is obligated to make $750 million in improvements to its system. Already, the city has raised residential and commercial water and sewer rates.

Council members Leona Plaugh and Moe Baddourah were the two council members who spoke most clearly against privatization Tuesday night.

Mayor Steve Benjamin and council members Sam Davis, Tameika Isaac-Devine and Brian DeQuincey Newman also said they were against privatization but indicated they wanted to see what ideas private companies had the might lead to “greater efficiencies” in the current system, as some of them said.

Benjamin said he would not vote for a Plaugh resolution that would have instructed city manager Teresa Wilson not to “sell, lease, entire into a service concession arrangement, or refinance the city’s” water and sewer system. The private companies have not even had a chance to submit proposals, Benjamin said.

Isaac-Devine proposed that she and Plaugh edit the language of Plaugh’s resolution over the next week, and Plaugh withdrew her resolution.

Council also agreed to appoint a seven-person citizens’ committee that will be kept informed of developments concerning any changes to the water and sewer system. Each council member will appoint one citizen Benjamin said he would appoint Ryan Nevius of Sustainable Midlands, a planning and advocacy group whose mission is “smart use” of environmental and local resources.

This story was originally published February 10, 2015 at 11:12 PM with the headline "Firestorm of protest hits Columbia city council over possible privatization of city water, sewer ."