The General Assembly,
Affirming that clean water is essential to life and therefore requires explicit protection and sensible management by all member states, but also acknowledging that any such efforts must be mindful of the practical and precise needs inherent in each member state, especially given their unique and varied distribution of ecological challenges and the exact nature of their water supplies and budgets,
Concerned that GA 107, while well-intentioned, fails to take such crucial elements into account, and noting the following:
- Clause 1 prohibits any intentional contamination of water supplies that “may conceivably serve civilians,” when there exists a multitude of reasons one may contaminate a water supply, even harmless safety measures such as using dyes to track pollutants or treatments to prevent disease and eradicate parasites; and as this prohibition is made “without exception,” there is no accommodation possible or allowance for any such measures;
- Clause 2 grants the International Bureau of Water Safety sweeping authority to set “minimum standards” without even establishing such crucial components as:
a. Which jurisdiction the committee focuses on, local, national, or some other kind;
b. Which substances constitute polluting substances or would be minimally acceptable;
c. Which considerations may be made to determine a minimally appropriate amount of water for all member nations;
and without consideration for the diversity of national and biological conditions, likely requiring unrealistic or unnecessary mandates without any possibility of adjustment or allowance for potential deviations;
- Furthermore, clause 3 obligates member states to provide a “minimal amount” of potable water to all citizens based on the Bureau’s standards, and while this amount must be “no less than that required for the healthy survival of the citizens,” without a mechanism for flexibility or the consideration of necessary exceptions, this minimal amount that meets Bureau standards may nevertheless be overly burdensome, especially if it cannot accommodate unexpected events such as droughts, disasters, and other logistical realities,
- Clause 4 purports to let nations regulate their own water production, purification, and usage, but this self-regulation is aspirational due to the clause’s condition that “all other provisions of this act are met” when the very first clause provides no exception whatsoever to its prohibition; moreover, efforts to accommodate member states and provide flexibility would be better applied and more effective when developing the standards and establishment of minimums, not saved for theoretical opportunities for self-regulation,
Hereby repeals GA 107 “Clean Water Act.”
