Nestle to tap Elora aquifer

Nestle Waters Canada is awaiting permission to withdraw water for bottling in the town of Elora in southwestern Ontario. The company has a conditonal offer to buy a well in the hope of taking up to 1.6 million litres daily, to supply a growing Canadian market.

It will be the third well in the region, and if approved, the company, a subsidiary of the transnational Nestlé company, will begin aquifer testing to see what the effect may be on the community.

Residents, however, are outraged. “This is huge money. Water is you know … I always call it the new gold,” Mike Nagy told a CBC reporter. “Water is actually the commons. It’s actually called the public commons. It belongs to the people of Ontario.” he said.

Nestle sells a half-litre bottle in Canada for approximately $1.25 (Cdn). It pays $3.71 (Cdn) for 1 millions litres of water.

Lindsay Bolger lives about three kilometres from the proposed site, is worried about the plan. She told CBC News that well levels already fluctuate in the area. “I’d like to know my well level now and how this is going to affect it,” Bolger said. “My neighbour’s well has gone dry.”

Bolger has not heard from Nestle directly, and she feels the company should be doing more to inform the community. “It doesn’t seem very transparent. It’s very frustrating,” she said, adding that only the engineering firm doing the testing has been in touch with her.

Andreanne Simard is Nestle’s natural resources manager. She said the project is the early stages and that the company is doing its best to keep the community in the loop when it comes to its operations.

“I totally understand their concern. That’s our concern as well. That’s why we want to conduct this aquifer test,” Simard said.

“We see great potential here. But if something were to happen it’s obviously our responsibility to rectify the situation,” Simard said, adding she thinks a problem is unlikely.