California Officials Move to Stop Nestlé From Taking Millions of Gallons of Water From Public Streams – EcoWatch

Source: California Officials Move to Stop Nestlé From Taking Millions of Gallons of Water From Public Streams – EcoWatch

Nestlé has been removing water from the San Bernardino National Forest in California. The Story of Stuff Project / YouTube

California water officials have accused Nestlé of draining more water out of southern California’s Strawberry Creek in the San Bernardino National Forest than permitted. The drafted cease-and-desist order, which was sent to the company on Friday, asked Nestlé to stop draining millions of gallons of water out of the forest every year and comes at the same time California’s Governor Gavin Newsom declared a drought emergency in two counties.

Nestlé, which sells its bottled water under the Arrowhead brand, maintains rights to California spring water that date back to 1865, The Guardian reported. But state officials say the company, which is based in Switzerland, has been taking more than its share, citing a 2017 investigation which found that Nestlé was illegally drawing from Strawberry Creek, a tributary of the Santa Ana river, which supplies over 750,000 residents with clean drinking water.

“We have a limited amount of water,” said Julé Rizzardo, the assistant deputy director of the Division of Water Rights, according to The Guardian. “And as we face our second dry year in a row, it’s important that we use our authority to protect the municipal water supply and the environment.”