Other major industries use far more water for the same $200 permit fee — Pfizer, for instance, used 6.9 billion gallons in 2015 for its medicine factory near Kalamazoo, according to state data — but most of
that water is returned to the same watershed after use, Nestlé critics note.
Where Nestlé Guzzles Water, Michigan Neighbors Take Exception -
By STEVE FRIESSMAY 24, 2017
EVART, Mich. — The creek behind Maryann Borden’s house was once “a lovely little stream
that just babbled along and never changed for decades,” she says.
Arlene Anderson-Vincent, Nestlé’s natural resources manager for Michigan, insisted, “We never take out more than nature’s bringing back in.”
Evart’s city manager, Zackary Szakacs, supports Nestlé, asserting
that the company’s purchase of water from city-owned wells keeps costs low for the 2,000 residents of a community with a $19,000 median income.
The company packages an average of 4.8 million bottles of water a day — more than 3,000 a minute — with
all lines running at a plant about 40 miles south of Evart, said David Sommer, the factory manager.
“Having anybody take away some of the very best water
that should be going into the creeks and the Muskegon River and eventually Lake Michigan, that’s a big deal,” said Jeff Ostahowski, vice president of Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation, who lives 25 miles from Evart.
Nestlé persuaded officials to look at the data differently, arguing
that the tool was too conservative, and in the second rendering the state found that the increased pumping would not harm the local environment