Stop the Sale of Our Water & Sewer!
The Rock Island City Council is considering selling our community's water and sewer service to American Water, a private, for-profit company.
A public water system is the only way to ensure accountability for employees, consumers and our community. AFSCME Council 31 urges opposition to the proposed sale of Rock Island’s municipal water service to a for-profit operator.
Click here to urge the Rock Island County City Council to oppose the sale!
Privatizing water service hurts consumers
In many cases private control of water systems has resulted in worse drinking water quality. For example, Pittsburgh’s water quality violations followed a chemical treatment change that occurred after the city hired a large multinational firm to provide management and consulting services to the city.
Privatizing water service hurts workers
Private operators’ profits are directly tied to cutting jobs and reducing benefits to employees. Water privatization results in the loss of 1 in 3 jobs, according to Food and Water Watch, and will jeopardize retirement security for Rock Island workers as employees lose access to the public pension system.
Privatizing water services costs communities more
According to one study of ten Illinois communities which sold their water systems to American Water’s Illinois subsidiary, water rates more than doubled on average over a ten-year period. This corresponds to an extra $405 on the typical annual water bill of a household using 72,000 gallons of water a year. In comparison, national surveys have found that water and sewer bills typically increase by about 5 percent a year. That means that customers of these privatized systems are seeing their water rates grow 260 percent faster than usual.
Contact these City Council members and urge them to oppose the privatization of Rock Island’s water system.
Moses Robinson, Jr., 1st Ward
309-737-1081
robinson.moses@rigov.org
Randy Hurt, 2nd Ward
(309) 737-3178
Hurt.Randall@Rigov.org
Judith Higgins Gilbert, 3rd Ward
309-429-0914
gilbert.judith@rigov.org
Jenni Swanson, 4th Ward
(309) 781-4877
Swanson.jenni@rigov.org
Dylan Parker, 5th Ward
(563) 940-6073
Parker.dylan@rigov.org
Mark Poulos, 6th Ward
(309) 737-9883
Poulos.mark@rigov.org
David Geenen, 7th Ward
(309) 912-6925
Geenen.david@rigov.org