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Today's Top News
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
CONTACT: Food & Water Watch Kate Fried (202) 683-2500 kfried@fwwatch.org |
Michigan Citizens Score Victory in Bottled Water Battle Against Nestlé
Statement of Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter
WASHINGTON - July 8 - "Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation went to court on Monday, July 6 and prevented Nestlé Waters North America from pumping even more water from an already depleted stream in Mecosta County to bottle for its Ice Mountain brand bottled water.
"Nestlé had been seeking to pump more water from Dead Stream and Thompson Lake under the criteria of a 2006 injunction. Fortunately, this week's circuit court ruling calls for Nestlé to reduce its water pumping earlier each spring and to maintain that lower volume of water withdrawals each summer. That should at least lessen the effects of dry weather on the watershed environment.
"In 2003, a trial court ruled that Nestlé's plan to pump water out of Mecosta County to slake the thirst of its bottled water business violated Michigan state law. Three years later, an appellate court agreed to an injunction in which the company could pump an average of 218 gallons of water a minute instead of the 400 gallons of water a minute that the state had allowed in the original permit.
"As a result of the court victory this week, Nestlé will have to make do with the 200-plus gallons of water per minute.
"But this is not the end. The fight continues to shut down Nestlé's operation in this sensitive Michigan ecosystem and, in the bigger picture, to ensure that water everywhere remains in public hands."
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2 Comments so far
Show AllIt was a small victory to say the least. Nestle still gets to pump water from an area that is at a crucial point in the water curve and the people are still being shown that they do not have the 'authority to say NO'. The courts still uphold the 'regulatory' law over Constitutional law. But, still, perhaps small steps will lead to great strides.
There is an alternative to this. If we all buy those filters that you put on your kitchen faucet or those Brita filter jars, and get ourselves nice little carry-around drinking jars from the 99 cent store, we could collapse this silly bottled water industry. Is anyone old enough to remember public drinking fountains? Hmmmmm....well, those were public services, remember? Paid for by local and/or State governments. You could get a drink of water for free in most places without having to carry around plastic bottles or have to throw them away. I cannot fathom why people buy bottled water, when there are alternatives. Yet another example of a carefully crafted marketing scheme. We don't NEED bottled water. Just some common sense and self-initiative. And we certainly don't need corporations drying up every stream in the country. Irony is that the "water crisis" that we are being told to "take responsibility for" is more due to this corporate usage of water, than our personal consumption. How can we start a movement to filter our own water and stop buying these products? And possibly bring back public drinking fountains?