(Re)theorizing the Politics of Bottled Water: Water Insecurity in the Context of Weak Regulatory Regimes

Abstract

Water insecurity in developing country contexts has frequently led individuals and entire communities to shift their consumptive patterns towards bottled water. Bottled water is sometimes touted as a mechanism to enact the human right to water through distribution across drought-stricken or infrastructure-compromised communities. However, the global bottled water industry is a multi-billion dollar major business. How did we reach a point where the commodification of a human right became not only commonly accepted but even promoted? In this paper, I argue that a discussion of the politics of bottled water necessitates a re-theorization of what constitutes “the political” and how politics affects policy decisions regarding the governance of bottled water. In this article I examine bottled water as a political phenomenon that occurs not in a vacuum but in a poorly regulated context. I explore the role of weakened regulatory regimes and regulatory capture in the emergence, consolidation and, ultimately, supremacy of bottled water over network-distributed, delivered-by-a-public utility tap water. My argument uses a combined framework that interweaves notions of “the political”, ideas on regulatory capture, the concept of “the public”, branding, and regulation theory to retheorize how we conceptualize the politics of bottled water.

Making Europe go from bottles to the tap: Political and societal attempts to induce behavioral change

“…Some municipal and regional governments (in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, and the United States) have instituted bans on the commercialization of bottled water in the public sphere (Díez, Antigüedad, Agirre, & Rico, ). For example, the government of the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Nova Scotia have banned bottled water in provincially owned facilities (Pacheco‐Vega, ). In the European context, bans on bottled water have not been considered and represent an unlikely move for politicians.…”

The 2030 Agenda as Agenda Setting Event for Water Governance? Evidence from the Cuautla River Basin in Morelos and Mexico

“…However, opposition to a water reform that would facilitate equitable access to water also comes from the private sector. Breweries, soft drink, and water bottling plants hold large water concessions [67,68] and are lobbying in congress to maintain these concessions in form of regional monopolies. (According to the Mexican Public Registry for Water Rights (REPDA) out 5769 concession titles granted by CONAGUA for industrial and agro-industrial use between 1992 and 2019, 30.87% (1781) % went to Geo, Ara, ICA, Homex (real estate sector), Bacocho, Sukarne (farms), Danone, Nestlé (water bottlers), FEMSA (Coca Cola), Pepsi, AGA (soft drinks), AB InBev, Heineken (breweries), Lala, Nestlé (dairy), Cemex, Apasco, Cruz Azul, Moctezuma (cement), and Pfizer, Bayer (pharmaceutical) [67].…”

Re-Theorizing Politics in Water Governance

“…Of interest is how these emergent technologies of water treatment and distribution articulate with long-standing concerns of decision-making, regulation, uneven access, or shifting ecological and justice concerns. First, Pacheco-Vega [60] understands the proliferation of bottled water as a political phenomenon enrolled within the relationships between industrial marketing and weak regulatory regimes. While societal norms serve a partial and context-specific explanation behind the sustained growth of global bottled water, Pacheco-Vega argues a "systematic attack" on water infrastructure, utilities, and experiences has unfolded, not merely "on the part of multinational corporations with a stake in commodifying local resources, but also local governments who abdicate their responsibility towards citizens" [60].…”

“…First, Pacheco-Vega [60] understands the proliferation of bottled water as a political phenomenon enrolled within the relationships between industrial marketing and weak regulatory regimes. While societal norms serve a partial and context-specific explanation behind the sustained growth of global bottled water, Pacheco-Vega argues a "systematic attack" on water infrastructure, utilities, and experiences has unfolded, not merely "on the part of multinational corporations with a stake in commodifying local resources, but also local governments who abdicate their responsibility towards citizens" [60]. In doing so, Pacheco-Vega [60] problematizes containerized and commodified liquids as a mechanism to enact the human right to water and as one that prioritizes (if not serves) the bottled water industry over public water distribution networks.…”