In most cities of the Global South, reliable access to safe drinking water remains a luxury for many. Despite several global interventions and neoliberal and public sector reforms, millions of urban residents especially in Africa are water-insecure. Many countries have overstated and prematurely celebrated marginal gains in water coverage by conflating physical access with availability, cost, time, and quality.
Water, Life, and Profit draws on extensive ethnographic fieldwork at different points between 2009 and 2015 in Niamey, Niger, to masterfully situate water access challenges in African cities at the junctures of global economic development, poverty, and inequality. Water, Life, and Profit shines the spotlight on water vending – a widespread practice and water source for many in Niamey and several African cities – as an optic to discuss questions surrounding the production, distribution, access, and consumption of water. By rightly balancing the global and local forces that shape everyday water insecurities in Niamey, the authors do an excellent job of providing a detailed ethnographic account that is relevant beyond their respective disciplines: Geography and Anthropology.
The book will appeal to scholars in Urban Studies, Public Policy, and African Studies, to mention a few, as well as to water policymakers, urban planners, and graduate students. Most of all, and as the authors acknowledge, the analyses presented in the book are pertinent to other crosscutting issues, from sanitation, health, life expectancy, climate change, conflict, to food insecurity. Positioning water as both a material object and a commodity, Water, Life, and Profit brings together diverse perspectives from sachet water producers, door-to-door water vendors (Ga'ruwa in local Niamey parlance), consumers, and policymakers to share new insights on what the authors refer to as ‘hybrid water economies’ (16).
The book is organised into six chapters in addition to the introduction and conclusion. Chapter 1 reviews the institutional lapses that create urban water crises in developed (citing Flint) and underdeveloped contexts. It brings together Africa's urban water challenges and water interventions driven by neoliberal and structural adjustment policies. The authors argue in Chapter 1 that despite numerous centralised and decentralised policies, and interventions by multinational and humanitarian groups (albeit their motivations vary), wide gaps remain in safe water demand and supply. Chapter 2 probes the urban growth trajectory of Niamey, a city with vivid footprints of French colonial influence following independence in 1960, and highlights how population growth and rapid rural-urban migration have created poor economic conditions for many of the city's residents.
Chapter 3 analyses the hybrid water access dynamics in Niamey, demonstrating persistent inequalities between the rich and the poor. In Chapter 4, the authors use rich examples and personal stories to delve into the everyday realities and the critical role male water vendors (Ga'ruwa) play in filling gaps in water service in Niamey. They portray water vending as both formal and informal with blurry separation. The chapter looks at gender relations, historical ethnic identities, and solidarity from organised networks associated with Ga'ruwa water distribution, ultimately advancing new understanding of the dialectical relations between water, culture, values, and social identities. Chapter 5 looks at the social and cultural processes underpinning the rise of sachet water (locally called piya wata) as a visible part of Niamey's waterscape. The authors show, as with water vending, that piya wata is yet another symbol of blurry state versus non-state water provision. Chapter 6 looks closely at the material dimensions of water, particularly the policies and practices through which water circulates. The chapter makes meaning from the several physical objects and technologies associated with water's production, storage, and use. Particularly interesting is how water – whether distributed by vendors or consumed in sachets – simultaneously carries multiple meanings and identities in Niamey.
In summary, Water, Life, and Profit is an excellent portrait of water and society; it makes more contributions than I can exhaust in a review. Still, a few of the contributions are noteworthy. First, the authors use accessible language without compromising the book's academic utility. Second, they advance important, yet often overlooked symbolic, material, and cultural dimensions of water, values that are threatened by the growing commoditisation of water. Third, the authors use many beautiful field photos to reinforce key points and make the book easily readable. Beyond its scholarly applicability, the book will be especially useful for advanced undergraduates and graduate students interested in society–water relations in general. Despite these strengths, the connections between local commoditisation of water and the role of multinational corporations (Veolia, etc.) could benefit from more analysis. Another weakness, which the authors admit, is the insufficient analysis of perspectives from water policymakers and representatives in Niger. These weaknesses, however, do not detract from the book's contributions.
