PHA-Exch> BECHTEL CUTS WATER IN ECUADOR, PLEASE Sign on to letter below

[Laura Turiano]

(A Spanish version of this letter is currently circulating. Please  mail
sgrusky at fwwatch.org for the Spanish call to action and sign on  letter)

BECHTEL CUTS WATER IN ECUADOR

URGENT!!! PLEASE FORWARD!!!

TAKE ACTION - SIGN ON TO LETTER BELOW!!

Dear Friends,

It is a well kept secret that Bechtel won a contract to privatize the
water in Ecuador's largest city, Guayaquil, just months after the
massive citizen protests that threw Bechtel out of Bolivia.  In October
2000, Bechtel signed a 30-year concession contract to run the water and
sanitation services in Guayaquil, Ecuador.  Now, more than six years
later, the residents of Guayaquil are demanding damages from the company
for water contamination, an end to water cut-offs, and a return to
local, public control. On September 28 citizens gathered in front of the
offices of the under secretary of the Economy to protest the contract.
The Observatorio Cuidadano de Servicios Publicos is seeking to stop the
water cut-offs through legal action. A letter signed by thousands of
Guayaquil residents documenting the abuses of the water company will be
delivered to Ecuadorian President Correa.

In solidarity with these activities, we request that you sign-on to the
letter below addressed to Mr. Riley Bechtel, the CEO and chairman of the
Bechtel Corporation.  The letter will be copied to members of the U.S.
Congress, the Ecuadorian President and the World Bank agency that
supported the contract.

Please send your name, organizational affiliation, and country to the
email address mfiil at fwwatch.org <mailto:mfiil at fwwatch.org> by October 15.

Thank you for your support.

Read more about Guayaquil on:
http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/water/waterprivatization/latinamerica/ecuad
or/guayaquil-bechtel

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

SIGN-ON LETTER


Riley P. Bechtel
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Bechtel Group
45 Fremont Street
San Francisco, CA 94105

Cc: President Correa, International Water Services, Interagua, The World
Bank agency MIGA, U.S. House Foreign Affairs and Financial Services
Committee members.

Dear Mr. Bechtel:

The undersigned organizations are writing to express our serious concern
with the activities of your subsidiary International Water Services or
Interagua Ltda. in Guayaquil, Ecuador.  Aided by loans from the
Inter-American Development Bank and a guarantee from the World Bank
agency, MIGA, your company won a concession contract to manage the water
and sanitation services in the city of Guayaquil in October 2000.  This
contract was signed shortly after the company left Cochabamba, Bolivia
following massive protests due to consumer rate hikes and other problems
with the water privatization contract in that city.  The citizens of
Guayaquil, Ecuador are now experiencing similar problems and are
demanding accountability from the company.  The Ecuadorian regulatory
agency ECAPAG recently fined Interagua $1.5 million for contractual
violations. The following issues, including documented contractual
violations, have been brought to our attention.

   * Repeated residential water cut-offs for up to 12, 24, 36 or more
hours at a time;
   * Residential water cut-offs of senior citizens and other low-income
residents due to inability to pay;
   * Failure to extend services to specific neighborhoods, especially
low-income residents;
   * Failure to meet contractual obligations for rehabilitation and
expansion of services;
   * Public health problems such as respiratory problems, skin rashes,
asthma and diarrhea due to lack of wastewater treatment;
   * Environmental contamination due to lack of wastewater treatment;
   * Hepatitis A outbreak in June 2005 which was investigated by local
authorities (Commission for Civic Control and the Public Defender¹s
office) who concluded that the water was ³not apt for human consumption.²

The undersigned organizations wish to extend our heartfelt support to
the citizens of Guayaquil who are calling upon Interagua to respect
their constitutional rights, their basic human needs, and their
fundamental human rights.  We call upon Bechtel, the subsidiary
International Water Services and the local water company Interagua, to
take the following actions to address the demands of the residents of
Guayaquil:

§     Take immediate action to forgive all the water debts of residents
whose services have been cut due to inability to pay;

§     Reconnect the water services of all residents whose services have
been cut due to inability to pay;

§     Ensure compliance with the concession contract regarding
rehabilitation and expansion of water services;

§     Ensure compliance with the concession contract regarding waste
water treatment;

§     Ensure compliance with the Ecuadorian constitution, laws and
regulations regarding the right to water and water quality standards;

§     Address citizen demands that water and other public services, be
locally and publicly owned, controlled and managed with active citizen
oversight and participation.

As you know, water is essential to sustain all life. The United Nations
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights adopted the human
right to water on November 26, 2002 and the United Nations Development
Programme¹s Human Development Report of 2006 calls on all governments to
enshrine the right to water in enabling legislation.  The human right to
water is indispensable for leading a life of human dignity.  Access to
clean and affordable water and basic sanitation services are fundamental
human rights. Everyone should have secure access to sufficient safe
water and sanitation to meet their basic human needs.  We await a prompt
response to these issues.

Sincerely,
Food & Water Watch
Your organization here!

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