Activists Shut Down Nestlé Plant In Drought-Stricken California

By Amanda Froelich, True Activist

As California suffers a record drought, local residents and activists took a stand to implore the company Nestlé to stop its gluttonous guzzling of California’s water for profit.

In case you’re not aware, California is currently experiencing its most severe drought ever recorded, the impending implications still being tallied.

But profit-driven company Nestlé has yet to slow their bottling of plastic water bottles, guzzling 80 million gallons of water from Sacramento aquifers per year.

For this reason, environmental and human rights activists, holding plastic “torches” and “pitchforks”, formed human barricades at both entrances to the Nestlé Waters bottling plant in Sacramento at 5:00 a.m. On Friday, March 20th. Their protesting effectively shut down the company’s operations for the day.

The activists, members of the “Crunch Nestlé Alliance”, shouted out a number of chants, some which include “We got to fight for our water,” “Nestlé, stop it, water not for profit,” and “¿Agua Para Quien? Para Nuestra Gente.”

Those in opposition to what the company is doing stayed until 1 pm, but there were no arrests.

The activist adamantly claim that Sacramento City Hall has allowed Nestlé to continue their actions via a “corporate welfare giveaway.”

“This corporate welfare giveaway is an outrage and warrants a major investigation,” Coalition spokesperson Andy Conn stated. “For more than five months we have requested data on Nestlé water use. City Hall has not complied with our request, or given any indication that it will. Sacramentans deserve to know how their money is being spent and what they’re getting for it. In this case, they’re getting ripped off.”

Lola Ellis of 99 Rise Sacramento, who spoke on the bullhorn at the protest, said, “Nestlé’s bottling of water in Sacramento is unsustainable in the current state of drought. We really don’t’ know how much water they are taking from the aquifer and that is a scary thing.”

She continued, “The water needs to be used for the local community. If there is not enough water for the local community, the Nestlé corporation should not be making a profit.”

Others support Ellis’ stance, rallying out of disbelief that such corporate greed could be allowed to continue when residents of the state are expected to run out of water within the next 12 – 18 months if serious action isn’t taken.

The coalition rallied to protest what they call Nestlé’s “virtually unlimited use of water” while Sacramentans (like other Californians) who use a mere 7 – 10 percent of total water used in the State of California are advised to limit their use and have had severe restrictions enforced upon them. What they hope to achieve is for Nestlé to pay rates commensurate with its enormous profit, or voluntarily close down.

“ Nestlé only pays 65 cents for each 470 gallons it pumps out of the ground – the same rate as an average residential water user. But the company can turn the area’s water around, and sell it back to Sacramento at mammoth profit,” according to a news release presented by the activists.

According to those protesting, Sacramento officials have refused attempts to obtain details of Nestlé’s water use. Coalition members have addressed the Sacramento City Council and requested that Nestlé either pay a commercial rate under a two tier level, or pay a tax on its profit.

As shared by DailyKOS, “A call to the Sacramento City Department of Utilities about the details of Nestlé’s water use hadn’t been returned as of press time.”

But Fox 40 News reported that “In 2014, Nestlé says it used 50 million gallons from the Sacramento Municipal Water Supply, which they say is a fraction of one percent of total water demand within the city of Sacramento.”

Issued by the company in October 2014, the follow statement is in regard to a previous protest in front of the plant:

“In Sacramento, Nestlé Waters North America purchases and pays the standard metered rate for municipal water, which is delivered through the municipal pipe system. We are not ranked among the top 10 water users in Sacramento as we use about two thousandths of one percent (0.0016%) of Sacramento’s total water demand. Our company is subject to any restrictions, drought or otherwise imposed on all light industrial or business customers by the city of Sacramento and we comply with those restrictions.” (Source: Scribd)

Credit: Nation of Change

To this, Bob Saunders – also with the Crunch Nestlé Alliance – responded, “Nestlé can claim any amount of water they want, but we haven’t seen any documentation of the amount of water they’re using. We do know they’re allowed to take up to 80 million gallons per year.”

Mauro Oliveira, known as “Red Sun,” showed up at the protest with his children, including Rise, Aren, and Mahai’a. He has connected the battle of local activists and fishermen to stop fracking, the Shasta Dam raise, and Governor Jerry Brown’s Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) to build the twin tunnels, the most environmentally destructive public works project in California history.

Said Oliveira, “This whole idea of bottling water goes against Indigenous Peoples’ concept of water is sacred. The 20,000-year-old water in aquifers belongs to the last generation on earth. We don’t have the right to tap into this water.”

He continued, “The Governor said we should conserve, but millions of gallons of fracking waste are being re-injected into the aquifer in California. The Governor talks out of both sides of his mouth. Polluting our water supplies is a violation of human rights.”

It’s a concern that demands attention and resolution. The more awareness that is raised, the more likelihood positive change will be enacted, therefore share this news with others you know. You can also read the entire press release here.