WaterBlogged

Selling water, a world away

Posted on Jul 30, 2010 by Candace

Sitka, Alaska and two American companies are working towards an export agreement selling bulk shipments of fresh water to the middle east. Sitka and Alaska Resource Management LLC, the partnership formed by the two companies, are seeking to be the first to introduce bulk supplies of freshwater, transported in huge tanker ships, as a new commodity in global trade. The concept is straightforward. Where local supplies cannot meet demand, a small group of wildcatter companies and water-rich countries are positioning themselves to provide large shipments of water via 80-million-gallon capacity tanker ships and floating polythene bags–bulk water, in the industry parlance.

“The concept we have with our partner is constructing a water depot in India or the Middle East where water is unloaded and stored with an adjacent bottling tank,” Trapp told Circle of Blue. “The water would then be distributed to countries in two-and-a-half liter or five liter containers.” stated the company

Water is also exported by bottling companies. But the volumes sold from a single source are much smaller than the volumes available in bulk. Danone, the world’s second largest bottled water producer, sold 18 billion liters (4.8 billion gallons) in 2009 from all its bottling plants combined, a sales volume that is roughly half of the water available from Sitka.

What is new is the idea of shipping water in tankers across oceans. It differs in scale and the notion that big commercial advantages exist when a scarce commodity is supplied to eager communities willing to pay the price.

Sitka’s Mayor Scott McAdams stated “I think the idea of selling bulk water to a thirsty planet has merit but its time has not yet arrived,” “Watersheds around the planet are under assault. The value of a commodity like water is only going to go up over time.” But, exporting water has come with much criticism. Proposals to export water supplies out of their natural basins have sparked fierce political resistance in some parts of the globe. The Great Lakes region of the U.S. Midwest established laws and regulations over the last decade that sought to ban the practice. Moreover, reliance on imports could perpetuate water-wasting practices in dry regions. And the capacity of wealthier regions to afford their water in five-liter containers could widen the economic and quality of life gulf between rich and poor countries.

If ARM breaks through the impediments, it could set off a run on Sitka’s 6.2 billion gallons per year of unallocated water rights. Two companies in the last six months have sent letters of inquiry about the city’s water supply for export to the Sitka Economic Development Association – American Water Company and Aqueous International, a subsidiary of a Luxemburg-based company.

Although no significant volumes of bulk water have been sold, A phrase on Aqueous International’s stationary perhaps captures best the prevailing mood in an industry that sees big profits in moving water by tanker. “Not a dream – inevitable!”

Article paraphrased from article Bulk Water Exports: Alaska City Wants to Sell the World a Drink by Brett Walton

To read the entire article visit
www.Circleofblue.org

Tagged: bottled water, bottled water sales, atlanta bottled water, fontis water, 5 gallon water