In Chaffee County, Colo., Nestle Waters is sniffing around an aquifer hoping to harness the mountain spring flavor customers are seeking, drawing 65 million gallons of water per year to bottle and sell under its Arrowhead brand.
However Chaffee County residents are not excited about the plan, afraid the water giant will suck the spring dry. Nestle operates 50 spring sites around the country, and is looking to find new water sources.

“It’s more a debate about corporations, who owns the water, and what is the best and highest use of water,” said Bruce Lauerman, a natural resources manager for Nestle.

Good sources of mountain spring water are difficult to acquire so once a large company like Nestle finds one; they are willing to fight hard for it, no matter how strong the local opposition. Once the cases go to court, typically judges rarely deny water companies the right to at least some water. And Nestle says they plan to extract less than 10% of the average spring flows, and snowmelt and precipitation will replenish the water supply.

The company also intends to restore the land around the springs, including an old fishery, to its natural habitat and preserve 100 acres of land, a plan praised by state wildlife officials. Nestle also touts the economic benefits to Chaffee County, saying it would provide short-term construction jobs and about $80,000 in annual taxes, as well as donations to charities.

But many residents are not so easily swayed, asking what will happen if there’s a drought. Chaffee County commissioners will consider the proposal this month.

According to a recent study done by the Pacific Institute, which conducts interdisciplinary research on three main programs of research: Water, Community Strategies for Sustainability and Justice, and Globalization,  bottled water requires almost 2,000 times as much energy to produce than comparable amounts of regular tap water. The study also covers the transportation costs of bottled water, and how much energy this consumes up and above normal bottled water production. This study furthers the growing realization of just how terrible the culture of bottled water has become, and highlights the disastrous consequences on the environment.

Americans purchase close to 30 billion bottles of water a year. Bottled water produces up to 1.5 million tons of plastic waste per year. According to Food and Water Watch, the manufacturing of that plastic requires up to 47 million gallons of oil per year to produce, and pumps 3 tons of carbon dioxide into the air. While the plastic used to bottle beverages is of very high quality and in demand by recyclers, over 80 percent of plastic bottles are just thrown away.

There’s a simple alternative to bottled water: Use a stainless steel thermos. Don’t like the way your local tap water tastes? Inexpensive carbon filters will turn most tap water sparkling fresh at a fraction of bottled water’s cost, which costs more per gallon than gasoline. If you don’t give up your plastic disposable water bottles for the environment, then at least do it as a response to the collapsing economy.