Nestlé Waters North America (NWNA) collects from 75 spring water sites around the country in order to provide bottled water in all 50 states. The Company's commitment to being a good neighbor and responsible environmental steward is consistent from state to state. In recent years, however, there have been news stories generated about a few projects. These are the facts about those projects.

Texas: Ozarka Spring Water 

The Claim: NWNA's operations allegedly depleted a neighboring homeowner's well, but NWNA supposedly prevailed in court because Texas law recognizes a "right of capture" allowing a well owner to pump water regardless of the impact on neighboring wells.

The Facts: Since 1996, NWNA has continuously collected spring water at Roher Springs in East Texas. Four days after bottling began, an area homeowner sued the Company claiming NWNA's operations depleted his well. The lawsuit and its subsequent appeals were lost.

Independent tests by the Texas Water Development Board concluded that NWNA's operations had no effect on the homeowner's well, leading the Board to issue a statement indicating that an area wide drought was the likely reason the homeowner's well went dry. Among other evidence, the Board observed that a spring-fed pond directly between NWNA's wells and the homeowner's well would also have dried up if NWNA were the cause. The Board's findings noted that:

".....it does not appear that the Ozarka production well has had any negative effect on the individual shallow well in question which is located over one-half mile away. Additional evidence which supports this conclusion is the presence of a spring-fed pond directly between the production facility and the well in question. Such a feature acts as a hydrologic barrier to any activity occurring on either side of it. For pumpage on one side to effect water levels in wells on the other would require drying up the pond first." 

-- Craig Pedersen, Executive Administrator
Texas Water Development Board
March 26, 1996

(A copy of the letter issued to Rep. Alexander can be found in the supporting documents section)

The homeowner's well may have been particularly vulnerable to drought conditions, given the fact that the well was hand-dug, one hundred years old, 26-feet shallow, atop a sandy hill and supplying the needs of 11 residents. 

Texas: Ozarka Spring Water 

The Claim: NWNA has allegedly ignored the needs of Texas residents because Texas water law lets it.

The Facts: While Texas law grants broader water rights than most states, NWNA has held itself to a higher standard of protecting the environment. To ensure its operations do not harm neighboring well owners, the Company undertakes extensive monitoring and shares its result with the State's Water Board. And when a neighbor's well went dry, NWNA promptly offered free bottled water, even though the State later concluded the Company's wells had nothing to do with the neighbor's dilemma.

NWNA has also worked to answer the community's questions. For example, NWNA voluntarily delayed starting its operations for six months for the sole purpose of providing time to address citizen concerns. During that time, the Company went to great lengths and expense to conduct additional tests to assure the project could be done safely and protect the environment for the long term. The company also verified its findings with independent professional hydrogeologists and state agencies. NWNA also invited local citizens to establish a committee to ensure the community receives first-hand information and has an outlet to address concerns.

Texas: Ozarka Spring Water 

The Claim: NWNA has a track record of harming and then abandoning springs because the Company no longer uses its spring sources in Arkansas and in Nacogdoches, Texas.

The Facts: NWNA no longer uses its spring sources in Arkansas or in Nacogdoches, Texas because of economic and aesthetic reasons, not environmental. The spring sources remain perfectly healthy. 

In Arkansas, NWNA purchased spring water from the owner of Cargile Spring until it became prohibitively expensive to haul the water in tanker trucks to the bottling facility in Fort Worth. Further, consumer marketing surveys showed Texas customers preferred the taste of spring water from East Texas, which has a lower mineral content than that in Arkansas.

In Nacogdoches, NWNA discontinued collecting spring water after a naturally occurring mineral, manganese, began to appear in higher levels. Manganese, when combined with ozone in the purification process, creates a precipitate that is not acceptable to Ozarka's quality standards. While a certain level of manganese is considered to be healthful, it creates a bottled water product that is no longer aesthetically pleasing. Springs are living, changing creations and the change in mineral content was something over which NWNA had no control. 

Florida: Zephyrhills Spring Water

The Claim: The State allegedly denied NWNA's proposed increase in its water withdrawals because the Company is running area water resources dry, but NWNA keeps trying to win State approval.

The Facts: After collecting water at Crystal Springs north of Tampa for more than 10 years, NWNA applied to increase withdrawals after undertaking a comprehensive year-long study of the spring, a nearby river and the surrounding environment. 

An administrative law judge affirmed that NWNA's operations have not and would not harm the quality of the water or the environment, but identified concerns about the amount of water that would be withdrawn under NWNA's initial proposal and as a result rejected the Company's request in February, 2000.

In August, 2000 NWNA re-applied for a smaller increase based on projections by the area water agency. NWNA's efforts to develop and justify alternative proposals are consistent with the rights and responsibilities of any Florida citizen. 

Pennsylvania: Deer Park and Great Bear

The Claim: NWNA's proposed increase in water withdrawals at two springs will harm area water resources. 

The Facts: The State would not approve a withdrawal that would harm the environment, and NWNA would not apply for a withdrawal without substantial scientific evidence that the withdrawal would be safe and sustainable over the long term.

The State based its decision to increase NWNA's spring water withdrawals at Hoffman Springs on extensive hydrogeologic and aquatic biologic studies, and on NWNA's responsible operations at the spring site. Since 1997, a local advisory committee has overseen NWNA's operations in the area; that committee concurred with the state's approval. 

NWNA's efforts to manage the spring during a two-year drought in the region earned it the Water Resource Association of Pennsylvania Environmental Stewardship Award, presented April 12, 2000.

NWNA's application to increase water withdrawals at a second site, Sassoonan Spring, is pending before state and regional agencies. The proposed increase is based on a groundwater study by an independent hydrogeologic firm. The study determined that ample supplies of water are available to support the environment, the community's needs and the company's application. 

NWNA has proposed backing the study with a comprehensive drought mitigation plan and long-term monitoring program that would act as an early warning system for any unanticipated effects of water withdrawals.