The People of Bethel Have Spoken: Keep Our Water Under Public Control, Not Corporate Manipulation

Statement of Nisha Swinton, Statewide Organizer, Food & Water Watch

For Immediate Release: July 19, 2013
Contact: Nisha Swinton – 207.619.5845, nswinton@fwwatch.org

Bethel, CT - "An overwhelming majority of Bethel voters spoke loud and clear on Thursday, and their message was simple: municipal water systems belong in the hands of local government and under public control, not subjected to the whims and profiteering of a corporation. Bethel residents understand that the privatization of their water would have meant higher rates, weaker service and less accountability. Like so many other communities throughout the nation, the people of Bethel rightly saw through the corporate spin and asserted control of their essential public resources.”

Food & Water Watch works to ensure the food and water we consume is safe, accessible and sustainably produced. So we can all enjoy and trust in what we eat and drink, we help people take charge of where their food comes from, keep clean, affordable, public tap water flowing freely to our homes, protect the environmental quality of oceans, force government to do its job protecting citizens, and educate about the importance of keeping the global commons — our shared resources — under public control.