What’s so bad about a water bottling plant in the Gorge? Plenty, according to a coalition of Oregon environmental groups.
For starters, the company proposing the plant is Nestle, the international conglomerate that’s controversial for how it promotes breast feeding formula in Third World countries. Next, the water Nestle wants to bottle is from pristine Oxbow Springs, the same water ODFW uses for a fish hatchery.
After working quietly behind the scenes for several months, the “Keep Nestle Out Of The Gorge” campaign recently launched a Facebook page and plans a big event for Monday, March 29.
That’s when organizers plan a visit to ODFW offices in Clackamas. They’ll deliver a petition, signed by 4,000 people, opposing the Nestle bottling plant. The group will also hold a press conference.
Earlier I spoke with Julia DeGraw, Northwest Organizer for Food and Water Watch. Her objections to the plant include:
- The environmental impacts of bottled water. Pouring water into bottles and shipping it in trucks seems like a waste of resources when there’s plenty of clean water to be had from the faucet. Plastic bottles are also a long-term litter problem if they’re not recycled.
- A philosophy that says water belongs to the public and allowing private companies to turn it into a commodity is not a good idea. The idea of someone making profits from a public resource doesn’t sit well with her. “We really believe water is a basic right,” says DeGraw. “We want to keep water in public hands.”
- Impacts on wildlife. The water from Oxbow Springs currently feeds into Herman Creek, a refuge for threatened wild steelhead. ODFW also uses some of the water for a salmon and steelhead hatchery. If ODFW hands over the water to Nestle, it will have to find another source to replace it.
It’s that last point that’s proving to be tricky. What Nestle is proposing is that ODFW hand over water rights to Oxbow Springs to the city of Cascade Locks. The city sells the water to Nestle who then bottles it.
In exchange, Cascade Locks gives ODFW water from the city’s well system. ODFW will spend the rest of the year testing the wells to see if it meets the standards necessary for a hatchery. An preliminary test last fall didn’t turn out well. Water from a test well was pumped into a pond filled with rainbow trout fry. But a malfunctioning valve introduced water that had been treated with chlorine, and all the fish died.
When the group delivers the petition on Monday, it will ask ODFW to decide against the water swap plan.
What Nestle has going for it on this issue the economic impact the plant will have in Cascade Locks. The small town in the Gorge has some of the highest unemployment in the state. Nestle says the $50 million plant will use about 100 million gallons of water annually, creating about 50 jobs. According to an article in the Oregon, it will double the city’s tax base.
For more information:
Facebook: Help Food & Water Watch Keep Nestlé Out of the Gorge
Bark: Nestle Bottling Plant Proposed for Columbia Gorge
Nestle: Nestle Waters Pacific Northwest
