California is in its third year of drought. Sacramento is already short on water and residents must abide by stricter water restrictions than before. Even so, Nestle Waters is preparing to open a water bottling plant early next year to start selling the area's precious tap. The debate is on.
Sacramento's mayor Kevin Johnson supports the plant because it will bring in 40 to 60 jobs. And because the plant is planned for an industrial zone, Nestle didn't need the city council's approval. Some councilmen disagree with the bottling plant. Also on their side is the local advocacy group, Save Our Water Sacramento, which wants to block the project.
According to the Department of Utilities, Nestle will use 81 million gallons of water per year. Nestle says they'll use both local tap and spring water that will be trucked in from sites outside of Sacramento. While 81 million gallons is only .2% of Sacramento's total water consumption, the city already has three bottling plants that combined use nearly 200 million gallons each year. Plus, even though residents can't water lawns between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., Nestle will able to access water and bottle the natural resource anytime.
Save Our Water Sacramento also plans to join forces with a Northern Californian group Local Water Stays Local, which is trying to stop an unnamed bottling company (possibly Nestle) that's taking water from Shingletown, Inwood, Viola and Manton. In fact, some speculate that this may be where Nestle is getting the spring water from for the Sacramento plant.
Only time will tell whether the plants will be permitted to go on bottling local tap water. But when Sacramento's City Council discusses the issue, they won't be sipping bottled water -- it has been banned from their meetings.
Image by JillDoughtie via Flickr under a Creative Commons License.
Sacramento's mayor Kevin Johnson supports the plant because it will bring in 40 to 60 jobs. And because the plant is planned for an industrial zone, Nestle didn't need the city council's approval. Some councilmen disagree with the bottling plant. Also on their side is the local advocacy group, Save Our Water Sacramento, which wants to block the project.
According to the Department of Utilities, Nestle will use 81 million gallons of water per year. Nestle says they'll use both local tap and spring water that will be trucked in from sites outside of Sacramento. While 81 million gallons is only .2% of Sacramento's total water consumption, the city already has three bottling plants that combined use nearly 200 million gallons each year. Plus, even though residents can't water lawns between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., Nestle will able to access water and bottle the natural resource anytime.
Save Our Water Sacramento also plans to join forces with a Northern Californian group Local Water Stays Local, which is trying to stop an unnamed bottling company (possibly Nestle) that's taking water from Shingletown, Inwood, Viola and Manton. In fact, some speculate that this may be where Nestle is getting the spring water from for the Sacramento plant.
Only time will tell whether the plants will be permitted to go on bottling local tap water. But when Sacramento's City Council discusses the issue, they won't be sipping bottled water -- it has been banned from their meetings.
Image by JillDoughtie via Flickr under a Creative Commons License.
Fresh water levels have declined in Southern California over the last few years. http://j.mp/3HlCGt will show you how far the water reserve levels have declined in Southern California. You will find a gauge on the site with three-color zones: Blue – good, Yellow – not good and Red – bad. The needle on this gauge is dropping out of the blue zone and heading into the yellow zone. It also has some simple water-saving tips that one can follow at home and outdoors.
Most people don't know where their bottled water comes from, nor do they give it a second thought. Hardly anyone realizes that it involves the extraction of huge quantities of water from certain locales that are often negatively impacted by such production. If more people knew about the life cycle of a bottle of water, fewer would consume so much of it. For an entertaining look at the absurdity of bottled water, watch this educational video: http://www.back2tap.com/fundraising3.html.
I'm sorry it may just be me, but what is the big deal? The water is treated and bottled and then we drink it. It's the same amount of water that we would drink from the tap anyway...it's not as if the water is being drained from Sacramento and then thrown away. I say putting it in a bottle and then drinking it (whilst providing 40-60 jobs) is far better than throwing gallons of it over your lawn where 90% of it flows off and down the road anyway.