Nestle at it again – Drawing water from a Drought Stricken Area…

 

 

"As residents of California are urged to conserve water and the state considers placing a mandatory restriction on outdoor water usage, Nestlé is trucking away undisclosed amounts of the precious resource in the form of bottled water.

The Desert Sun has an in-depth report of controversy brewing around the company’s bottling plant, which draws water from a drought-stricken area for its Arrowhead and Pure Life brand water. Because the plant is located on the Morongo Band of Mission Indians’ reservation, it’s exempt from oversight by local water agencies and is able to keep confidential information — such as the amount of groundwater it’s pumping and water levels in its wells — that other plants would be required to disclose. As a result, critics contend, it’s impossible to know just how much of the limited resource the plant is extracting to send elsewhere.

Here’s more from the Desert Sun:

“They’re entitled to use the groundwater basin, too. Everyone is. But it’s just a shame that this water is not being used locally. It’s being exported,” said David Luker, general manager of the Desert Water Agency. He said DWA’s position has been that the Morongo tribe should have to report its water use just like other entities."

– See more at SALON: http://www.salon.com/2014/07/14/nestle_is_bottling_water_straight_from_the_heart_of_californias_drought/

This is pure idiocy. How you can you justify drawing large amount of water from a draught stricken area? Here you have a company making millions in profit from selling bottled water while residents literally next door are forced to restrict water usage. The residents rely on wells that get their water from underground.

Now, picture a row of bathtubs – The first tub gets filled and the overflows into the next tub and so forth. The first tub is where Nestlé draws their water from and the other tubs are where the people get their water from. Unfortunately since the first tub doesn’t get a chance to fill up properly it affects all the other tubs. This is one of the problems the people are facing – Nestlé’s factory is using most of the available water and then they friggen export the water from the region.

And since The factory does not need to comply to the same regulations as the rest of the region they can simply continue drawing large amounts of water. The company had this to say about the situation:

"We proudly conduct our business in an environmentally responsible manner that focuses on water and energy conservation," the company said. Our sustainable operations are specifically designed and managed to prevent adverse impacts to local area groundwater resources, particularly in light of California's drought conditions over the past three years."

This statement is completely contradictory and the opposite to “water and energy conservation”, since making bottled water uses large amount of water to just make the packaging. I do not understand how this can be allowed and accepted. It’s all the in the name of profits – where there is money to be made there is a way, regardless on the impact it has on the environment or the wellbeing of people.

Nestle – the company that believes water should not be a human right. Just don’t buy anything Nestle anymore.