How often have you thought about ethics and water? If you are like me, probably not very often, and I am supposed to be a professor on the "cutting edge of thinking" in water. Sure, I have read articles about some ethical issues, such as our approach to water issues in the developing world, water pricing issues, location of waste disposal sites, professional practices, etc., but I never thought much about them. What's worse, in over 30 years of teaching I never really introduced many ethical considerations into my classes, except in a very cursory manner.
All that changed about five years ago, when I came across a book that enlightened me about water and ethics: Navigating Rough Waters: Ethical Issues in the Water Industry, edited by Cheryl K. Davis and Robert E. McGinn (2001, published by the American Water Works Association). The book is a collection of 24 articles about - you guessed it - ethics and the water world. Davis, McGinn, and the AWWA have done us all a great service. Over the years there have many articles and books about ethical issues in water; what's different about this one is that it is the first in-depth treatment with a number of thoughtful articles and case studies. It covers water treatment, planning and management, international work, water privatization, manufacturing, consulting, "fear-mongering", sustainability, intergenerational equity, and more. It broaches issues that I probably would not have considered "ethical" questions.
The book has some excellent discussion topics at the end of the articles. Some of them deal with trying to decide what you should or should not tell the public about their water supply. For example,if you are a water utility manager and your water-quality testing identifies a "hot-button" chemcial (hexavalent chromium, arsenic, TCE, whatever) in the water but at concentrations well below the MPC or any known health risk, are you obligated to tell your customers, knowing full well there will be a demand to remove it from the water supply when there is no compelling evidence it is harmful? What if the customers want it removed, at an additional cost that will impact low-income customers? What are your obligations?
Let's try this one. Is it ethically incumbent upon water officials from developing countries to adopt and use less rigorous but affordable wastewater reuse standards geared to their countries instead of "importing" those that prevail in the developed world?
The conversion of wastewater into drinking water presents some interesting dilemmas. The book has an excellent little study about NDMA (N-nitrosodimethylamine) in the Orange County Water District's water supply and the praiseworthy approach taken by the OCWD.
What about a foreign, multinational firm that partners with a local firm to present a facade of "local control" to win a contract for a project in a developing country?
The book also discusses the Principle of Intergenerational Equity and the current generation's obligations to the ones following.
I'm sure you can think of many other situations. I was so impressed with the book that I started broaching these topics in my classes and will continue to do so. I only wish I had some formal training in ethics.
The book costs about $150 and is well worth it. If you are an AWWA member there is a discount.
By the way, would it be ethical to get a friend who is an AWWA member to buy it for you? Just thought I would ask.
"Who dares to teach must never cease to learn." -- John Cotton Dana
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