Plot Synopsis

From documentarian Alex Gibney, PARCHED is a one-hour documentary series that explores the corporate, political and social interests that are responsible for the world's limited and dwindling water supplies. The series opener, "Money Flows," starts when the financial crisis hit in 2008, as fast-rising water fees resulted in thousands of residents without access to water in their homes, and precipitated Flint, Michigan's disastrous decision to draw water from the Flint River. This episode explores an alarming trend in the water sector, where Wall Street banks control municipalities, ultimately holding the everyday American's water supply in their grip. The second episode, "Toxic Waters," begins in West Virginia, where a cattle farmer traces the deterioration of his livestock to illegal dumping in the Ohio River in in the 1980s, unraveling a corporate conspiracy by DuPont that leaves thousands at risk. In California's Central Valley, oil companies have moved into agricultural areas -- but when heavy lobbying results in lax oversight and regulation, the result is water contamination. PARCHED debuted on Tuesday, March 21, 2017 at 10pm ET/PT on Nat Geo, one day before World Water Day 2017.
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On Tuesday, April 4, 2017 at 10pm ET/PT, Nat Geo premiered the the third and final installment of PARCHED. In the finale, "Global Water Wars," a powerful water mafia steals water from government and private reserves in the shadowy outskirts of India's capital city, and sells it to those who can pay the hefty price. Meanwhile in Syria, ISIS uses the region's limited water supply as a weapon, capturing dams and leaving the locals who depend on them helpless. Get a foreboding look at the world's future through the lens of the global water supply.