Good news and bad news about Nestle Waters Canada bottling plant in Aberfoyle.
The bad news is that they were granted a one year extension on their existing Permit-to-take-Water due to the inability to perform particular tests in low flow conditions (last summer was a very wet one). For one more year, Nestle will be able to remove water from our aquifer, package this precious substance into small, single-use disposable plastic containers, and for the most part, ship it out of our watershed. What Nestle keeps for sale locally will be sold back to those of us not yet savvy enough to know better at exorbitant prices compared to the very same aquifer water from our taps. We were preparing our campaign to make comments on their renewal which was to happen this April, 2010. With the help of our members and concerned citizens alike, we managed to post over 8,000 comments on their last renewal request (spring 2007). We were prepared with an even bigger campaign for this coming year.
The good news is that we have one more year to plan the strategy for our campaign for their spring 2011 renewal. in the mean time, we will be watching them like hawks……. Have a look at this year-end video greeting to Nestle: