California Legislation Proposes Reporting of Bottled Water Data
In the “it’s about time” department comes news that legislation requiring public disclosure of the amount of water bottled in California awaits Governor Schwarzenegger’s signature.
From the SFGate site:
Assembly Bill 2275 is a step in that direction. The legislation requires public disclosure of the source and volume of California’s water that is bottled every year. This information is crucial to help policymakers make responsible decisions about the ways in which our most precious resource should be allocated.
There are more than 100 bottled-water facilities operating in California. While each of these facilities report the amount of water extracted from groundwater sources to the state Department of Public Health, this information is neither compiled nor made available to local and state decision-makers who are responsible for water planning. This bill would allow them to have access to that information. The State Water Board, who is doing a full inventory of its water rights, is making a similar effort.
Later, the opinion piece – written by State Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes and Mark Schlosberg (California director of Food & Water Watch) – even makes special mention of our favorite water bottler:
Bottled water facilities near Mount Shasta have divided local communities who are concerned about corporations such as Nestle, which owns Arrowhead Water, abusing their water resources.
Knowing how much waters is being bottled (and where) is the first step in truly defining the impacts water bottling has on our water supply.
