Boston Indy Media - While
Sacramento has suffered drought, Nestle continues to drain California
aquifers and sell the people's water back to them at great profit...
under many dozen brand names.
The city of Sacramento is in the
fourth year of a record drought - yet the Nestlé Corporation continues
to bottle city water to sell back to the public at a big profit, local
activists charge.
The coalition, the crunchnestle alliance, says
that City Hall has made this use of the water supply possible through a
"corporate welfare giveaway," according to a press advisory.
"The
coalition is protesting Nestlé's virtually unlimited use of water – up
to 80 million gallons a year drawn from local aquifers – while
Sacramentans (like other Californians) who use a mere 7 to 10 percent of
total water used in the State of California, have had severe
restrictions and limitations forced upon them," according to the
coalition.
"Nestlé pays only 65 cents for each 470 gallons it
pumps out of the ground – the same rate as an average residential water
user. But the company can turn the area's water around, and sell it back
to Sacramento at mammoth profits," the coalition said.
Activists
say that Sacramento officials have refused attempts to obtain details
of Nestlé's water used. Coalition members have addressed the Sacramento
City Council and requested that Nestle’ either pay a commercial rate
under a two tier level, or pay a tax on their profit.
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