Nestle wants to bottle water from Florida's Ginnie Springs -- for free

[NAM001]

Out of curiosity..... Why are those against bottledd water becasue of the plastic involved concerned. Isnt the US one of if not the lowest plastic polluter on the globe contributing something like .1% or .01% of plastics in the ocean and waterways are form the US.

 

[NAM001]

IMO bottled water is a scam in it self. You tell the people water is bad for them and then you sell them a more expensive version of it as if the seller cares about the public. You want to sell bottled water on a campus , All you have to do is say city water id tainted and makes you vote conservative and the warehouses will empty until there will be a shortage of bottled water. And dont forget marketing scams like our water is made from french springs or pure mountain water. one drop is but the rest is city water ran through a filter. And the public is too stupid to know or even ask the right questions.

 

[Lorenzoid]

the very idea that what is below ground belongs to any single state is stupid. If that is the case then the polution that comes down rivers is owned by the state they are currently in. And who owned all the water before it crossed the state line into fla??? Sounds like georga should be demanding payment for the georga water that is being used by FLA.

You’re being facetious, right? GA, FL and AL have been battling each other over water rights before the Supreme Court and elsewhere for decades. Agriculture and residential use are the major culprits.

I would want to see data, too, but drawing more water, presumably for some of it to be sold outside these states, merits a raised eyebrow.

 

[kelemvor]

So did anyone yet come up with anything effective to do about this? I didn't see anything in this thread, so I was thinking maybe something is going on elsewhere (facebook etc)?

 

[The Chairman]

And for the record, I hate the very concept of bottled water

Me too! I bring refillable containers with me all the time.

So my problem with bottled water is more the bottle than the water.

Me too! However, with salt water intrusion into Florida's aquifer system, we need to pay attention to the water as well.

Single use plastics are emblematic of our current consumer mindset. I hate it and it's one reason I moved here to my 10.82 acres in North Central Florida. Reduce, reuse, recycle and repurpose are the tenets I try to live by. Unfortunately, I'm a hypocrite. I buy Diet Pepsi in 2 liter bottles and go through one of those every other day. I do buy powdered drink mix that accounts for about two-thirds of my water consumption, so I am trying. If I had a better way to buy Diet Pepsi, like a dispenser system, with the SS syrup bottles, I would be all for it. They don't seem to be economically feasible at this point. I actually had to find a way to dispose of my plastics as Suwannee County does not recycle them. Wow.

But back to the water issue. There are a few aquifers here in Florida and they are precious. Unfortunately, the pressure we've put on them due to our population explosion is measurable and we are seeing lower aquifers (with resultant sink holes) as well as salt water intrusion. I don't believe we should be trying to quench the world's thirst with our water. Here's a map of our aquifers...

And here's a map of the current water bottlers in Florida...

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As best as I could figure out, Nestle pulls 500,000 gal/day out of it's Zepherhills plant and they want to start pulling 1,250,000 gal/day out of Ginnie. Ice River Springs already has a plant just outside of Ginnie that's pulling 750,000 gal/day, so we're talking about a collective 2,000,000 gal/day. This can't be healthy for the already beleaguered aquifer or the businesses currently relying on the various springs in the area to survive. No, I don't have any answers and I'm probably a part of the problem. I hope we figure something out before Ginnie, Little River, Jug Hole, Cow, the Peacock system and other caves dry up. I don't want to walk them.

 

[Caveeagle]

I'm a hypocrite. I buy Diet Pepsi in 2 liter bottles and go through one of those every other day. I do buy powdered drink mix that accounts for about two-thirds of my water consumption, so I am trying. If I had a better way to buy Diet Pepsi, like a dispenser system, with the SS syrup bottles, I would be all for it. T

I am pretty sure PepsiCo bought Soda Stream a few months ago. I expect a “make it yourself” model for soda to become even more viable soon. It still cost more on a per-oz basis once you factor in cost of co2 and equipment. I’m a big fan of this. It has an even bigger net benefit for economics (& environment) once you factor or the cost of diesel fuel shipping all that liquid weight around the state. Your 2ltrs of Dt Pepsi were probably bottled in Jax, Orlando or Tampa and they burn a lot of fuel hauling those drinks up to you.

 

[NAM001]

You’re being facetious, right? GA, FL and AL have been battling each other over water rights before the Supreme Court and elsewhere for decades. Agriculture and residential use are the major culprits.

I would want to see data, too, but drawing more water, presumably for some of it to be sold outside these states, merits a raised eyebrow.

My pint is that it makes no different which state you pull the water from the guy at the end of the line is the one that sees all the reduction, no one owns the water, it is an earth resource. unfortunately states take claim to things that are global and not theirs when it is only passing through. California had a similar issues with farmers taking water from the canals for ag use. Yet with out the farmers what would be left to california The lunacy of it was that farmers used untreated water run off. that is what is in the canals going from northern to southern cali. Water is a flowing resource and IMO no one owns it , A fixed resource like minerals is a whole other matter. And your mention about states fightng over this just proves my point. I now of no other resource that is as replenishable as water. your under ground water tables go low and they refill again. Tell me when you flood in north fla should you sue ga for doing it or is that just nature, the very same nature that refills your water tables.

Ity is another situation when water is extracted to fast and looses it purity. if the caves can provide 10 mil gallons a day dumping into the river that is going out to sea then how are companies steeling when they are taking say 2 mill of it. ONe could make the argument that they are sving the water from being contaminated by the run off process that is already occuring.

 

[Lorenzoid]

. . . I now of no other resource that is as replenishable as water. your under ground water tables go low and they refill again. Tell me when you flood in north fla should you sue ga for doing it or is that just nature, the very same nature that refills your water tables.

I'm no expert, but I don't believe enough rainwater falls to sustain Atlanta's reservoirs, the farmers to the south, the oyster beds near the coast, and all of the others who take water along the way before what's left reaches the Gulf of Mexico. What was once a flow decades ago is now a relative trickle by the time it reaches the coast. Same for a number of other rivers, of course--the Colorado comes to mind.

I know even less about the hydrology of the Floridian Aquifer, but I am guessing there is a similar issue of it not refilling with rainwater sufficiently fast to sustain all who take water from it. As I understand it, despite the occasional torrential rains and flooding, over the longer term there has been, and is predicted to continue to be, a net loss of water from the aquifer. Someone correct me if I am mistaken.

 

[Caveeagle]

over the longer term there has been, and is predicted to continue to be, a net loss of water from the aquifer. Someone correct me if I am mistaken.

If this is true, (and it may be), then why is this DATA absent from these reports? I recal the polar ice caps were predicted to be gone by 2015.

Why reference White Spring, that has not flowed since the 70s. Or another article that made reference to Hornsby Spring that has stopped flowing. And neglects to mention the land owners poured at least two truckloads of sand in that spring, trying to create a beach for their summer camp program back in the late 80s.

I want to protect our resources. But have become very jaded when my BS alarm seems to trip so often.

 

[Lorenzoid]

If this is true, (and it may be), then why is this DATA absent from these reports?

I'm totally with you on a need for data to support efforts to conserve natural resources and the environment. I just hope enough studies have been or will be performed before commercial concerns are awarded more permits.