"...And Water for All" is my first feature-length film, which I wrote, produced, and directed. It was released on March 22nd, 2022 (World Water Day) and it's available for free in YouTube (see link below).
The documentary deals with the topic of water affordability in Ohio. Building and maintaining the physical infrastructure to deliver high-quality, affordable water to Ohio’s citizens is a costly endeavor, and how to pay for these important investments can lead to heightened levels of social and political conflict. The documentary examines the challenges that governmental and nongovernmental actors will face to secure access to clean, affordable water in the coming decades.
For special screenings with live or remote audiences, please contact me here.
Scroll down for resources about water affordability that can be used to learn more about the topics covered in the movie.
The documentary deals with the topic of water affordability in Ohio. Building and maintaining the physical infrastructure to deliver high-quality, affordable water to Ohio’s citizens is a costly endeavor, and how to pay for these important investments can lead to heightened levels of social and political conflict. The documentary examines the challenges that governmental and nongovernmental actors will face to secure access to clean, affordable water in the coming decades.
For special screenings with live or remote audiences, please contact me here.
Scroll down for resources about water affordability that can be used to learn more about the topics covered in the movie.
LEARN MORE & TAKE ACTION!
These are links to the organizations and individuals featured in this documentary:
- The Junction Coalition is a neighborhood organization in Toledo. Its work is based on the four pillars of economic justice, environmental justice, social justice, and peace education.
- Dr. Manny Teodoro is one of the foremost experts on water affordability in the country. His website includes great resources to think about how to solve water affordability problems in America. Check out this lecture on how distrust in public water systems drives up consumption of bottle water (something he mentions in our film).
- The Alliance for the Great Lakes, the Ohio Environmental Council, and Freshwater Future are non-governmental organizations that do great work to solve affordability problems in Ohio and beyond. Please support their work if you can!
- The Regional Community Action Partnership (RCAP) works with rural communities across America and provides them with technical assistance on drinking water and wastewater projects. In the Great Lakes Region, their program is operated by the Great Lakes Community Action Partnership in Ohio and six other states. Visit glcap.org/rcap to learn more.
- The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency's Division of Environmental & Financial Assistance works with local governments to improve access to drinking water and wastewater services.
- The Cleveland Water Alliance spearheads a number of initiatives in Cleveland with the goal of driving economic development and sparking innovation around water.
- The North East Ohio Regional Sewer District provides wastewater and stormwater treatment services to Cleveland and many surrounding communities.
- The Greater Cleveland Water Equity Partners is a group of stakeholders in the Cleveland area working to address water affordability.
- The City of Toledo's Department of Public Utilities is here. Information about its debt forgiveness program is available here.
- Do you want to learn more about New Waterford, Ohio? Check out their Wikipedia page.
- Contact your State House and State Senate representatives and let them know that you care about water affordability! Click here if you don't know what district you live in.
- Same thing with your U.S. Congress representatives. Ballotpedia will give you contact information for all of them.
READINGS ABOUT WATER AFFORDABILITY
The following is a list of readings you can use educate yourself about affordability of water services. If you are a teacher, you can use the movie and the readings together.
- Neal, Marian J., Anna Lukasiewicz, and Geoff J. Syme. "Why justice matters in water governance: some ideas for a ‘water justice framework’." Water Policy 16.S2 (2014): 1-18.
- Pierce, Gregory, Nicholas Chow, and J. R. DeShazo. "The case for state-level drinking water affordability programs: Conceptual and empirical evidence from California." Utilities Policy 63 (2020): 101006.
- Switzer, David, and Manuel P. Teodoro. "Class, race, ethnicity, and justice in safe drinking water compliance." Social Science Quarterly 99.2 (2018): 524-535.
- Switzer, David, and Manuel P. Teodoro. "The color of drinking water: Class, race, ethnicity, and safe drinking water act compliance." Journal‐American Water Works Association 109.9 (2017): 40-45.
- Teodoro, Manuel P. "Water and sewer affordability in the United States." AWWA Water Science 1.2 (2019): e1129.
- Teodoro, Manuel P. "Issue framing and public willingness to pay water and sewer rate increases." AWWA Water Science 4.2 (2022): e1275.
- Teodoro, Manuel P. "Measuring household affordability for water and sewer utilities." Journal‐American Water Works Association 110.1 (2018): 13-24.
- Teodoro, Manuel P., and Robin Rose Saywitz. "Water and sewer affordability in the United States: a 2019 update." AWWA Water Science 2.2 (2020): e1176.