Nestlé Water Controversy May Head To Ballot Box

Nestlé’s water business has become an election issue as the company continues to face criticism for bottling and selling precious resources as most of the U.S. languishes in drought.

“Opponents of a Nestlé water bottling plant proposed for the tiny Oregon town of Cascade Locks have filed a local ballot measure that would prohibit any bottled water exports from the county. The group believes it’s the first measure of its kind nationwide to attempt to prevent local water rights from being sold to a corporation, and hope it may set a precedent for other communities,” the Statesman Journal reported.

Ed del Val, president of the Local Water Alliance PAC and a major opponent of Nestlé’s operation, explained how weather patterns play a role in his stance. Hood River County, where Cascade Locks is located, was declared to be in drought conditions in July, according to the state government.

“When your county is facing record drought conditions, the idea of sending millions of gallons of water a year out of the county in mountains of plastic piled on the back of trucks seems particularly irresponsible,” del Val said.

Approval of the ballot measure would prohibit transporting or conveying water “from any water source within the County in order to support a commercial bottled water operation.”

Here’s what Nestlé has proposed, according to Oregon Live:

A controversial deal to build a bottling plant in the economically depressed city has been in the works for more than six years. It centers on state-owned water rights at Oxbow Springs, near Cascade Locks in the Columbia Gorge. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) uses the water for a nearby salmon hatchery. The newest version of the deal calls for the state to permanently trade spring-water rights for water from the city’s well water system. Nestlé then would build a plant in Cascade Locks to bottle the spring water. The city and ODFW have agreed to the plan, but it still requires approval from the Oregon Water Resources Department. Opponents have written letters to the governor and staged hunger strikes. Earlier this month, tribal groups staged a rally at the Capitol, saying the deal infringes on treaty rights.

Some locals are in favor of the Nestlé operation. “Nestlé's supporters laud the plant as an economic development opportunity for the cash-strapped town and a job opportunity for its residents, nearly 19 percent of whom are unemployed,” Oregon Live reported.

City Manager Gordon Zimmerman noted potential benefits of the deal.

"This is an economic development question," he said. "We could use the jobs, the increased tax base and the utility revenues."

Nestlé emphasizes the importance of water, in general, when defending its bottled water business.

"Water is essential and if people weren't drinking our bottled water, they'd be drinking tap water or soda or beer," said Jane Lazgin, director of corporate communications at Nestlé, per CNBC.

For more on the drought, visit Water Online’s Water Scarcity Solutions Center.