The local group Unbottle and Protect Chaffee County Waters plans to join with other groups opposing Nestlé Waters North America, Inc. bottled water projects in Chaffee County and in five other states for a Thursday, March 18 event called “Virtual Rally to Reclaim Nestlé’s Troubled Waters”.
Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a water rights advocate, is the featured speaker at the virtual event on Thursday.
The virtual event will be held at 5:00 p.m. on YouTube and Facebook. It is sponsored by the Story of Stuff Project. The program will have Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a water rights advocate, as the featured speaker and will include musical performances. Interested people can sign up to get a reminder email at https://storyofstuff.typeform.com/to/EZWEzMHS.
Organizers say the goal of the rally is to underscore opposition to allowing Nestlé to bottle water from its various sources, and sell it to the public in plastic bottles. Locally, this includes Arrowhead and other brands, bottled from the Nestlé-owned Ruby Mountain spring near Nathrop.
Last year, Nestlé reported pumping and selling nearly 72 acre-feet of water from the site; or more than 23 million gallons of the spring water. One acre-foot of water is equivalent to about 326,000 gallons of water.
Nestlé is involved in a Chaffee County 1041 permit review, seeking a ten-year extension of the permit for its local pumping operations. First granted in 2009, the permit met opposition then and faces renewal opposition now.
While the 1041 permit has been under review, Nestlé Waters North America was put up for sale by its parent company, and an offer has been received from a private equity firm.
Local activists, including Jennifer Swancina, spokesperson for Unbottle and Protect Chaffee County Waters, said Nestlé was not forthcoming about the sale. They contend that commodifying water resources isn’t wise, given increasing drought conditions in Colorado, as well as global problems surrounding plastic pollution.
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