DeepSeaExplorer
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Nestle pays a one-time fee of $115 to pump 1 millions gallons a day from the Florida Aquifer.
WATER POLICY: Fla. gets a tiny paycheck as Nestlé taps its springs
WATER POLICY
Fla. gets a tiny paycheck as Nestlé taps its springs
James Marshall, E&E News reporter Greenwire: Friday, January 24, 2020
[+] Florida springs where Nestlé sources water or has proposed to. Ginnie is one of the springs that connect the Floridan Aquifer to the Santa Fe River. Claudine Hellmuth/E&E News
Ginnie is one of 36 named springs that connect the Floridan Aquifer to the Santa Fe River. The river's flow has been declining for decades due to fluctuations in spring flows and rainfall, as well as increased pumping, Knight said.
The Florida Springs Institute estimates that groundwater use from the Florida Aquifer increased by more than 400% between 1950 and 2010. Flows in the Santa Fe River and its springs are down about 30%, according to the institute.
The water management district's "minimum flows and levels" rule, which it uses to inform water permitting decisions, also says the Santa Fe River is in recovery, warning against allowing excessive withdrawals. However, a new draft rule, scheduled to go into effect this summer, suggests more pumping can be done without "causing significant harm."
"I think it's absolutely clear with the recovery prevention strategy in place you cannot renew this kind of permit," said Ryan Smart, director of the Florida Springs Council, a water advocacy group.
In response to public criticism, Nestlé set up a frequently asked questions webpageaddressing Ginnie Springs. The company says 1.15 million gallons of daily withdrawals won't harm the Santa Fe River because that amount accounts for less than 1% of the average flow in that part of the river, according to figures it drew from USGS.
Seven Springs Vice President Risa Wray concurred, writing an opinion piece in The Gainesville Sun suggesting that bottling water will help preserve the spring.
"We believe that protecting this land and using the spring for bottled water is the best option for ensuring the long-term sustainable use of this property," she wrote.
A spokesperson for Nestlé pointed to projects the company has done to protect and recharge the aquifer as evidence of its commitment to maintaining the health of Florida's waterways.
"We are proud of the more than 900 good-paying jobs we create in Florida, and we know our investment and commitment is extremely important to the individuals, families and Florida-based companies we support," the spokesperson added.
Knight, of the Florida Springs Institute, said Nestlé's ability to extract Florida spring water almost free of charge is just one part of a larger problem. Agriculture, which consumes more Florida groundwater than any other industry, also pumps millions of gallons of water a day for the price of an application fee.
In total, Knight said, about 400 million gallons a day is allowed to be extracted from the region the SRWMD manages, an area in the Big Bend part of the state spanning from the Georgia boarder to the Gulf Coast.
"It's not their fault that the state is giving these permits out. They're just profiting off of it," Knight said. "It's the state government of Florida that's at fault here for not protecting the public resource adequately."
Knight suggested setting aside enough groundwater for public use and putting a price on withdrawals made by corporations in order to fund state conservation efforts.
Proposed tax for water bottlers
[+] Nestlé and its partners are permitted to take more than 3 million gallons a day in total from four groundwater sources in Florida. If a state water management district renews a permit for a fifth source, Ginnie Springs, that number will top 4 million gallons. Claudine Hellmuth/E&E News(graphic); Florida water management districts(data source)
State lawmakers have taken note of Nestlé's Ginnie Springs saga and proposed a tax targeting bottled water companies. A bill in the state House, H.B. 861, would tax water bottlers 12.5 cents per gallon of groundwater pumped to fund wastewater treatment and stormwater management.
"We continue to find such proposals without scientific merit, harmful to Florida's economic competitiveness, and even discriminatory, in that they solely focus on one particular water-using industry in the state," the Nestlé spokesperson said.
Smart, of the Florida Springs Council, said he hopes this bill is a sign of things to come.
"Eventually, we need to be in a place where everyone who's using water out of Florida's aquifer is putting something back into this pot to repair the damage that's being done," he said.
Despite pressure from the public to deny Nestlé and Seven Springs the permit, Knight believes the water management district will grant it.
In 2014, a similar public outcry occurred when Niagara Bottling LLC applied to take nearly 1 million gallons of spring water a day for 20 years in central Florida. A water management district there approved it for a $1,000 application fee.
"They've got better lawyers and better lobbyists," Knight said. "And more of them than the public does."
Nestlé had three registered lobbyists last year in both the state Capitol and the water management districts.
Before the board votes on the Ginnie Springs permit, SRWMD must finish assessing Seven Springs' response to a third request for additional documents. In its latest submission, Nestlé included a report it commissioned from a consulting firm showing the company's economic impact in Florida.
Meanwhile, with little fanfare, the Northwest Florida Water Management District approved a permit in December to allow Nestlé to acquire 306,000 gallons of water a day from White Springs in Bristol.
WATER POLICY: Fla. gets a tiny paycheck as Nestlé taps its springs
WATER POLICY
Fla. gets a tiny paycheck as Nestlé taps its springs
James Marshall, E&E News reporter Greenwire: Friday, January 24, 2020
[+] Florida springs where Nestlé sources water or has proposed to. Ginnie is one of the springs that connect the Floridan Aquifer to the Santa Fe River. Claudine Hellmuth/E&E News
Ginnie is one of 36 named springs that connect the Floridan Aquifer to the Santa Fe River. The river's flow has been declining for decades due to fluctuations in spring flows and rainfall, as well as increased pumping, Knight said.
The Florida Springs Institute estimates that groundwater use from the Florida Aquifer increased by more than 400% between 1950 and 2010. Flows in the Santa Fe River and its springs are down about 30%, according to the institute.
The water management district's "minimum flows and levels" rule, which it uses to inform water permitting decisions, also says the Santa Fe River is in recovery, warning against allowing excessive withdrawals. However, a new draft rule, scheduled to go into effect this summer, suggests more pumping can be done without "causing significant harm."
"I think it's absolutely clear with the recovery prevention strategy in place you cannot renew this kind of permit," said Ryan Smart, director of the Florida Springs Council, a water advocacy group.
In response to public criticism, Nestlé set up a frequently asked questions webpageaddressing Ginnie Springs. The company says 1.15 million gallons of daily withdrawals won't harm the Santa Fe River because that amount accounts for less than 1% of the average flow in that part of the river, according to figures it drew from USGS.
Seven Springs Vice President Risa Wray concurred, writing an opinion piece in The Gainesville Sun suggesting that bottling water will help preserve the spring.
"We believe that protecting this land and using the spring for bottled water is the best option for ensuring the long-term sustainable use of this property," she wrote.
A spokesperson for Nestlé pointed to projects the company has done to protect and recharge the aquifer as evidence of its commitment to maintaining the health of Florida's waterways.
"We are proud of the more than 900 good-paying jobs we create in Florida, and we know our investment and commitment is extremely important to the individuals, families and Florida-based companies we support," the spokesperson added.
Knight, of the Florida Springs Institute, said Nestlé's ability to extract Florida spring water almost free of charge is just one part of a larger problem. Agriculture, which consumes more Florida groundwater than any other industry, also pumps millions of gallons of water a day for the price of an application fee.
In total, Knight said, about 400 million gallons a day is allowed to be extracted from the region the SRWMD manages, an area in the Big Bend part of the state spanning from the Georgia boarder to the Gulf Coast.
"It's not their fault that the state is giving these permits out. They're just profiting off of it," Knight said. "It's the state government of Florida that's at fault here for not protecting the public resource adequately."
Knight suggested setting aside enough groundwater for public use and putting a price on withdrawals made by corporations in order to fund state conservation efforts.
Proposed tax for water bottlers
[+] Nestlé and its partners are permitted to take more than 3 million gallons a day in total from four groundwater sources in Florida. If a state water management district renews a permit for a fifth source, Ginnie Springs, that number will top 4 million gallons. Claudine Hellmuth/E&E News(graphic); Florida water management districts(data source)
State lawmakers have taken note of Nestlé's Ginnie Springs saga and proposed a tax targeting bottled water companies. A bill in the state House, H.B. 861, would tax water bottlers 12.5 cents per gallon of groundwater pumped to fund wastewater treatment and stormwater management.
"We continue to find such proposals without scientific merit, harmful to Florida's economic competitiveness, and even discriminatory, in that they solely focus on one particular water-using industry in the state," the Nestlé spokesperson said.
Smart, of the Florida Springs Council, said he hopes this bill is a sign of things to come.
"Eventually, we need to be in a place where everyone who's using water out of Florida's aquifer is putting something back into this pot to repair the damage that's being done," he said.
Despite pressure from the public to deny Nestlé and Seven Springs the permit, Knight believes the water management district will grant it.
In 2014, a similar public outcry occurred when Niagara Bottling LLC applied to take nearly 1 million gallons of spring water a day for 20 years in central Florida. A water management district there approved it for a $1,000 application fee.
"They've got better lawyers and better lobbyists," Knight said. "And more of them than the public does."
Nestlé had three registered lobbyists last year in both the state Capitol and the water management districts.
Before the board votes on the Ginnie Springs permit, SRWMD must finish assessing Seven Springs' response to a third request for additional documents. In its latest submission, Nestlé included a report it commissioned from a consulting firm showing the company's economic impact in Florida.
Meanwhile, with little fanfare, the Northwest Florida Water Management District approved a permit in December to allow Nestlé to acquire 306,000 gallons of water a day from White Springs in Bristol.
