Troubled Waters documentary advocates water for all

The Dan Springs at the base of the Golan Heights. The Dan and nearby Banyas Springs make up the headwaters of the Jordan River in the Middle East. Photo: D. Duncan/Global Ministries

December 11, 2006

The 60-minute documentary Troubled Waters (www.troubledwatersdoc.com) began airing on ABC-TV stations nationally late October.

Produced by the United Church of Christ with Church World Service support, the documentary examines why water has become a scarce resource in some places and shows some of the challenges faced by people seeking access to clean, safe drinking water and adequate sanitation.

The documentary complements the Water for All campaign on which Church World Service and Global Ministries of the UCC and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) are working together. The campaign aims at enabling access to, and provision of, potable water through local and global partnerships. Its key message is that water is a gift from God and a human right, not a commodity available only to those who can pay for it.

"Around 100 stations, from Alaska to Wyoming, have scheduled to air the documentary since the week of October 27," said Derek Duncan, one of its executive producers. Duncan, who accompanied the Troubled Waters video team to the Middle East, helps maintain mission relationships in that region and in Europe for the UCC and Disciples. He interprets issues and events in the two regions for members of the churches and is part of a global education and advocacy team.

The Middle East is one focus area of the film. The region also provides the inter-religious background.

"The idea was to see how the main Abrahamic traditions viewed water and how they share common ethical perspectives on water issues today," Duncan explained. The film also looks at water in Malawi and Bolivia, and in the U.S. Southwest and Great Lakes.

In the Middle East, Duncan and his colleagues traveled along the course of the Jordan River, "from its headwaters at the Dan spring at the base of the Golan Heights, down through the Hula Basin and its rich agricultural fields in Israel."

He saw how the river is increasingly tapped for settlement development before it empties into the Dead Sea.

"I had the poignant experience of visiting Palestinian families in the Occupied Territories whose access to water in their villages and fields was cut off by the separation barrier or by checkpoints," Duncan said.

The documentary features a rainwater harvesting project in the West Bank that CWS supported.

A DVD of the documentary, packaged with a study guide, will be ready for distribution later this year. The guide refers viewers interested in more information about some of the issues in Troubled Waters to online resources of Church World Service’s Water for All campaign.

Duncan, a member of the CWS Education and Advocacy Program Committee, said Global Ministries decided to parallel the CWS Water for All campaign and use the same language. “This enables us to use the same resources and speak about CWS partners in development, advocacy and solidarity as partners of our own,” he said. “We were pleased that CWS was able to provide financial support to help support the documentary and study guide.”