Friday, July 18, 2014

From the company whose president says people do not have an inherent right to water.

Nestle is bottling water straight from the heart of California's drought (Click here to read more)

The company is exporting a seriously limited resource with no oversight

Lindsay Abrams
.
As residents of California are urged to conserve water and the state considers placing a mandatory restriction on outdoor water usage, Nestle 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.

[...]

No comments: