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

[PfcAJ]

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.

You are absolutely correct.

Look at the abysmal state of Wakulla as an example.

 

[HKGuns]

It isn't a Government problem and it isn't a Corporate problem. It is a people problem, created by irresponsible individuals that no amount of rules or regulation will resolve.

Solution, drink tap water and save money by not buying bottled water. In most parts of the United States, our water cleanliness is the envy of the world.

 

[The Chairman]

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

Of course there's data. Hydrogeologic setting, conceptual groundwater flow system, and hydrologic conditions 1995–2010 in Florida and parts of Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina

I simply Googled "Florida Aquifer Level".

I'm not a hydrologist, I just love swimming in our aquifers. So, I have no idea how to interpret the current data, but it's there. Both the hydrologists I know, who are competent to read/interpret the data, tell me that the aquifer levels are indeed down and that salt water intrusion into the state aquifer is a real thing. Municipalities relying on various wells have had to add wells and deeper ones at that because of tis

 

[Caveeagle]

Of course there's data. Hydrogeologic setting, conceptual groundwater flow system, and hydrologic conditions 1995–2010 in Florida and parts of Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina

I simply Googled "Florida Aquifer Level".

I'm not a hydrologist, I just love swimming in our aquifers. So, I have no idea how to interpret the current data, but it's there. Both the hydrologists I know, who are competent to read/interpret the data, tell me that the aquifer levels are indeed down and that salt water intrusion into the state aquifer is a real thing. Municipalities relying on various wells have had to add wells and deeper ones at that because of tis

Yes, I have heard the reports regarding the salt water Intrusion. What I am hoping to see is some objective findings that relate actual gallons diverted for beverage plants, compared to other industries. And some analysis to show a high degree of correlation to results they are measuring in the groundwater.

Most of us know there are many springs in this area that spring right into the Santa Fe. Lily, Rum, Blue, July, Dogwood are the best known, that are close by. I’m pretty sure that >90% of that water is going right into the Gulf. What is the actual % being diverted for bottling operations? How does that compare to water being pumped from private wells? For home and agriculture?

On another note., I’m laughing at all the “let’s go pee in Ginnie Springs” activist. I’m pretty sure the water intake for the Nestle plant very far upstream from anywhere they can reach.

 

[The Chairman]

Why reference White Spring, that has not flowed since the 70s.

It ceased to flow in 1990. Altamonte Springs ceased to flow in the 1970s. It's now a trickle under Florida Hospital in the city of the same name. Both were attributed to lower aquifers due to population increases.

ONe could make the argument that they are sving the water from being contaminated by the run off process that is already occuring.

Tell the estuaries and coastal shell fisheries that.

The water issue in Florida is not a simple one. Farming runoff killed Lake Apopka by the mid seventies. Trying to drain the swamp harmed the everglades and then the Keys as well. It's important to understand that the entire cycle is important, not just the part that we drink. I've lived here most of my life and have seen the unintended consequences of various projects, both commercial and environmental. Vast ideas started with half vast (say it fast) understanding. It's my feeling that the closer we keep things natural, the better off we are.

 

[The Chairman]

On another note., I’m laughing at all the “let’s go pee in Ginnie Springs” activist. I’m pretty sure the water intake for the Nestle plant very far upstream from anywhere they can reach.

There is a well casing pretty far back in Little River. I haven't been there yet, but when I do get there, I'm gonna have to pee.

 

[Schwob]

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

Source?

 

[Caveeagle]

It ceased to flow in 1990. Altamonte Springs ceased to flow in the 1970s. It's now a trickle under Florida Hospital in the city of the same name. Both were attributed to lower aquifers due to population increases.

It had significantly declined long before that. And they had done concrete work and who knows what else to that spring. Was is really killed by population growth? Maybe.. but it could also have been impacted by other factors.

 

[Caveeagle]

There is a well casing pretty far back in Little River. I haven't been there yet, but when I do get there, I'm gonna have to pee.

I am betting you have a well on your property. Mind if I stop by and take a wizz?

 

[rhwestfall]

Stop growing grass in yards (golf courses being the bane of us), and water supplies would increase....

Florida isn't the only one. Look, the Colorado River doesn't make it to the ocean as it is sucked dry by the inhabitants along the way.

There was a plan attempted to divert water from the Great Lakes to the west to accommodate water demands there.

Absurd...