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Saturnalia wrote:- Nestle in Stanwood pumps 1.1 million US Gal of water daily, the subject of much debate. At that rate, it would take them 1,965 years to lower the water level of Lake Michigan/Huron by a single inch

A bit of an apples and oranges comparison.

PatAzo wrote:

Saturnalia wrote:- Nestle in Stanwood pumps 1.1 million US Gal of water daily, the subject of much debate. At that rate, it would take them 1,965 years to lower the water level of Lake Michigan/Huron by a single inch

A bit of an apples and oranges comparison.

A bit, because it is aquifer versus lake water. But, my return argument is that we should get Nestle to move their bottling plant to one of the Great Lakes, where their pumping will have no impact.

One thing often missed in the Nestle debate, too, are the other people in the area pumping water - aquifer depletion in this country is mostly a result of farmers, not bottled water. Isn't even close.

Saturnalia wrote: we should get Nestle to move their bottling plant to one of the Great Lakes, where their pumping will have no impact.

The water would no longer be "spring" water and would therefore be worth less comercially.

Standard Railfan wrote:

Saturnalia wrote: we should get Nestle to move their bottling plant to one of the Great Lakes, where their pumping will have no impact.

The water would no longer be "spring" water and would therefore be worth less comercially.

Nestle has an ingrained brand. As long as it tastes the same, which is fairly easy to do, very few would ever notice.

I get what you were saying. Admittedly I like the convenience of bottled water but it's a fairly wasteful practice. I bought water at a Casey's in Iowa and noticed it was from Evart MI. It was surprising anyone would haul water that far. I started looking at bottles and a couple other times found water trucked quite a distance. More often the water was taken from a "municipal source" or no source is listed at all. The bottlers know how to tweek the water with a touch of minerals for taste.

PatAzo wrote:I get what you were saying. Admittedly I like the convenience of bottled water but it's a fairly wasteful practice. I bought water at a Casey's in Iowa and noticed it was from Evart MI. It was surprising anyone would haul water that far. I started looking at bottles and a couple other times found water trucked quite a distance. More often the water was taken from a "municipal source" or no source is listed at all. The bottlers know how to tweek the water with a touch of minerals for taste.

Dasani comes from the Detroit Water System. Proof that they could suck stuff straight from the lakes and make it taste how they want. And that people really don't care if it is "spring" water or not.

Saturnalia wrote:

Standard Railfan wrote:

Saturnalia wrote: we should get Nestle to move their bottling plant to one of the Great Lakes, where their pumping will have no impact.

The water would no longer be "spring" water and would therefore be worth less comercially.

Nestle has an ingrained brand. As long as it tastes the same, which is fairly easy to do, very few would ever notice.

You're missing Standard Railfan's point though. Brand name or not, labeling the contents of the bottle "Lake Michigan water" would have a negative effect as opposed to the "natural spring water" label. People associate "spring water" with being naturally clean. Yes, Lake Michigan water could easily be prepared for drinking, but I'd bet the majority of people who buy bottled water do so because of the "natural spring water" labeling. Lots of psychology involved.

Saturnalia wrote:

PatAzo wrote:I get what you were saying. Admittedly I like the convenience of bottled water but it's a fairly wasteful practice. I bought water at a Casey's in Iowa and noticed it was from Evart MI. It was surprising anyone would haul water that far. I started looking at bottles and a couple other times found water trucked quite a distance. More often the water was taken from a "municipal source" or no source is listed at all. The bottlers know how to tweek the water with a touch of minerals for taste.

Dasani comes from the Detroit Water System. Proof that they could suck stuff straight from the lakes and make it taste how they want. And that people really don't care if it is "spring" water or not.

And Dasani sucks.

There is a legal definition of spring water. I didn’t look up the whole rule.

The basic caveat is the water producer must demonstrate that pumping water from the source will influence the aquifer of a nearby spring.

My former employer did a substantial amount of work for Nestle. We learned that “spring” water has a much higher market value than processed water.