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Raw sewage. Hepatitis A. Discrimination. No running water. San Francisco-based corporation Bechtel is misbehaving in: Ecuador, after being kicked out of neighboring Bolivia. Tell CEO Riley Bechtel enough is enough by signing the letter below.

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February 10, 2010

Subject:

Dear Mr. Bechtel,

I am writing to express my serious concern with the activities of your subsidiary International Water Services or Interagua Ltda. in Guayaquil, Ecuador. With the help of the World Bank, your company won a concession contract to manage the water and sanitation services in the city of Guayaquil in October 2000. Unfortunately, you have not lived up to your duty. Now that the privatization has failed, Bechtel seeks to flee Ecuador without taking responsibility for that failure. 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 my attention.

Repeated residential water cut-offs for more than 24 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 Defender's office) who reported the water was "not apt for human consumption."

Interagua should not be permitted to evade its responsibilities by selling the company and fleeing from Ecuador.  I call upon Bechtel, the subsidiary International Water Services and the local water company Interagua to address the demands of the residents of Guayaquil.  These demands must be met immediately and BEFORE Interagua leaves Ecuador.

1.  Immediately forgive all the water debts of residents whose services have been cut due to inability to pay;

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

3.  Fulfill compliance with the concession contract regarding rehabilitation and expansion of water services;

4.  Fulfill compliance with the concession contract regarding waste water treatment;

5.  Pay all fines and debts incurred during operations in Guayaquil;

In addition, the Ecuadorian government needs to 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. The human right to water is indispensable for leading a life of human dignity. Everyone should have secure access to sufficient safe water and sanitation to meet their basic human needs.

I await a prompt response to these issues.

Sincerely,

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