Participation Type
Panel
Session Title
Session 9.07 Environment: West Virginia's Water Privatization History and its Implications for Organizing After the WV Water Crisis
Session Abstract or Summary
The presentation will include a digital storytelling website, short lectures, and discussion.
The chemical spill that poisoned the water of some 300,000 West Virginians in January of 2014 was neither a stand alone event nor a moment that has passed us by. With a long history of water crises in the region, understanding the history of Appalachia’s water infrastructure is crucial to understanding how this chemical spill occurred. Meanwhile, this event sparked organizing and political mobilization in West Virginia that is currently working to make lasting change to not only the water infrastructure in the state, but the political landscape. On this panel, participants will lay out the history of the private water system that has come to serve much of West Virginia. Participants will also explain the implications of this spill in organizing efforts for a new future of water infrastructure and water politics in the state.
Presentation #1 Title
A Social History of West Virginia American Water
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
This presentation will walk through online graphics, audio interviews, and maps to discuss the history of this water infrastructure. American Water, a national water corporation, came to West Virginia nearly a century ago. With water plants in some dozen locations across West Virginia, and the Appalachian region, by the 1940s, American Water has been a regional water player for a long time. The outcome of several months of research on the making of West Virginia’s current water system, this presentation walks through their history in the region. With the use of a digital storytelling documentary, this presentation relies on personal stories, from oral history, and archival research to tell the history of water policy and law in the United States. It also tells the stories of the corporate and public policy decisions that allowed the January 9th water crisis to occur.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Gabe Schwartzman conducted research on Appalachian geography, politics, and culture during his undergraduate at UC Berkeley. After finishing a BA in Cultural and Economic Geography he received the Judith Lee Stronach Baccalaureate Prize to continue research as a Visiting Scholar to UC Berkeley and develop a digital storytelling web presence to document water crises in Appalachia.
Presentation #2 Title
Organizing for a Safe Water System
Presentation #2 Abstract or Summary
In a brief lecture the panelist will walk through the process of organizing for a safe water system in West Virginia.
The January 9th chemical spill generated outrage against West Virginia American Water and opened many residents' eyes to larger problems regarding decaying infrastructure, water privatization, and insufficient regulatory oversight. Initial organizing efforts targeted WV American Water for continuing to bill people for contaminated water throughout the water crisis. As the water crisis unfolded, organizers learned more about the problems with WV American Water. Despite charging the highest rates in the state and being located in a region of West Virginia known as “Chemical Valley,” they do not know what chemicals might contaminate their intake, they do not monitor for potential contaminants, they have no emergency plan for this sort of event, and they have no alternative source of water. This presentation will describe the organizing that emerged from the water crisis focused on WV American Water and the effort to create a "Citizens' Water Utility Plan" for the impacted region. It will explore the possibilities for improving the safety of the water system in the historical context of expanding water privatization in the Kanawha Valley.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #2
Cathy Kunkel has lived and worked in West Virginia for the past four years, and has been involved in several environmental justice and economic transition efforts through her work with Coal River Mountain Watch and Energy Efficient West Virginia. She is a founder and steering committee member of Advocates for a Safe Water System, a community association that formed after the January 2014 chemical spill that contaminated the drinking water for 300,000 West Virginians.
A Social History of West Virginia American Water
This presentation will walk through online graphics, audio interviews, and maps to discuss the history of this water infrastructure. American Water, a national water corporation, came to West Virginia nearly a century ago. With water plants in some dozen locations across West Virginia, and the Appalachian region, by the 1940s, American Water has been a regional water player for a long time. The outcome of several months of research on the making of West Virginia’s current water system, this presentation walks through their history in the region. With the use of a digital storytelling documentary, this presentation relies on personal stories, from oral history, and archival research to tell the history of water policy and law in the United States. It also tells the stories of the corporate and public policy decisions that allowed the January 9th water crisis to occur.
