wellington water watchers

See coverage of the Nestle decision at the CBC, the Globe and Mail and the Guelph Mercury.

The Wellington Water Watchers have just been informed that the Ontario Ministry of the Environment has decided to grant Nestle Waters Canada a two-year Permit to Take Water for their Aberfoyle plant, with no reduction in their daily maximum limit.

While we would like to stress that, in our view, any permit granted to a commercial bottler to take public water essentially for free is squandering a precious public resource; we are nonetheless pleased that the MOE has reduced the requested timeframe from 5 years to 2 years.  However we remain concerned by that fact that the Province of Ontario is giving away 3.6 million liters per day to a private water bottler and that the volume of Nestle’s permit has not been decreased.  The MOE has indicated that under the new permit, Nestle will be required to conduct extensive monitoring on the impact of their water taking.  The permit’s requirements in terms of the degree, frequency and number of locations to be monitored make it one of the most comprehensive permits to take water issued by the MOE, and sends an important message to the water bottling industry. It would appear that our province will be more diligent stewards of our public water resource. They will be monitoring levels closely, and making sure that commercial use does not threaten the sustainability of our watershed.

The Ministry is to be commended for heading the advice of the City of Guelph in shortening the time period of the permit, indicating the impact of the Places to Grow Act has been considered in this important decision. This two-year time frame will give our region the opportunity to properly plan for the management of municipal water supplies to accommodate our rapidly growing population. Granting Nestle’s request for a five-year permit would have been rash given the lack of knowledge about our future water requirements.

The WWW raised the issue of Mill Creek being environmentally impacted by Nestle’s water taking, suggesting specifically that Nestle’s pumping is causing reversal of groundwater flow to the creek. Subsequent studies have confirmed that this is occurring. This is one of the issues that the MOE is requiring Nestle to monitor further. We will be also be monitoring this situation. In particular, the MOE is requiring that further studies will be done to determine if this flow reversal is preventing brown trout from breeding in the section of Mill Creek that runs closest to the Nestle plant. It is possible that reductions in water taking could be required to stop the flow reversal and restore the creek to its natural trout-sustaining habitat.

We are disappointed that the Province has not yet addressed the serious waste management issues involved in the disposable of plastic bottles created by Nestle (millions bottles per day).   We urge the MOE to address this policy issue urgently.

There is more and more evidence to suggest that bottled water should only be used for emergency purposes, (for example when Vancouver’s water supply was compromised for a several days, or in any community where there is a boil water order.)  Since the Walkerton tragedy, our municipal water supply system in Ontario has come a long way to be amongst the cleanest and safest in the world. With that in mind, we feel that NON-emergency sale of bottled water is not warranted. The Wellington Water Watchers will continue to promote the use of tap water in our county, and the use of refillable containers. By the time Nestle applies for its next permit in two years, it is our hope that there will no longer be a demand for bottled water outside of emergency use.

For further information contact:  info@wellingtonwaterwatchers.ca

WWW members are invited to party on World Water Day!

March 22nd at 8:00 pm
Wellington County Brewery
[950 Woodlawn Rd West]

Join your friends for a fine evening of music and dancing.

Tickets are $10 each and can be reserved by sending us an email. Proceeds to local water protection initiatives.

“SAVE OUR WATER” RALLY

Saturday March 22, 2008
St. George’s Square, Wyndham Street, Guelph
12 noon - 1pm

Join us for this family friendly water awareness rally featuring:

• Local politicians
• Community environmental groups
• Guest speakers
• James Gordon and The Funky Mamas performing!

Supported by: Wellington Water Watchers, Council of Canadians, Making Waves (WLU students), Guelph Urban Forest Friends, Guelph Students for Environmental Change, Guelph Civic League, Funky Mamas, James Gordon, International Oil Working Group, Guelph Peace Community, Guelph International Resource Centre, Waterlooians, Brant Avenue Public School Environmental Club, Harcourt Memorial United Church, School of Environmental Design and Rural Development (U of G), Guelph Environmental Leadership, Eden Mills Going Carbon Neutral, and others

Wear blue for water!

Music to inspire…