Oregonian Guest Opinion: Keep the tap closed on Nestle

By Guest Columnist
By Julia DeGraw

For nearly three years, environmental and consumer advocates have been fighting to protect the Columbia River Gorge from exploitation by the multinational water bottler Nestlé. Since Nestlé can't get its hands on the gorge's spring water directly, a complicated water exchange between the state Department of Fish and Wildlife and the city of Cascade Locks must happen first. Applications that must be processed before that exchange takes place could be approved as soon as March.

On Jan. 27, Dave Palais, Nestlé's natural resources manager, gave public testimony asking the Water Resources Commission to support the water bottling plant and to approve the water exchange pertaining to the project. Palais claims a plant bottling 100 million gallons of Columbia Gorge water per year will be good for Oregon's economy, but a Food & Water Watch economic study conducted by Ecotrust finds otherwise. Even one of the state's leading labor unions, Oregon AFSCME, sees through Nestlé's empty promise of job creation and opposes the project. They realize that it's not worth giving up control of public water -- our most essential shared resource -- for a handful of jobs.

Nestlé promises that the bottling plant will create 48 local jobs. Compared to the estimated 1,030 jobs that tourism brings to Hood River County, it's hard to justify the long-term, environmental damage a bottled-water plant would cause. Tourism, on the other hand, is a thriving industry that can continue to grow and remain environmentally benign if done responsibly.

From 2002 to 2007, tourism spending in Hood River County has increased 135 percent while statewide it has only grown 33 percent. As of 2007, visitors to the county have spent an estimated $72 million. Cascade Locks is the only town in Oregon between Portland and Hood River, so it is a natural tourist destination in the scenic gorge. But if a bottling plant were built -- bringing noise pollution, increased truck traffic (and potential for accidents) and an unsightly manufacturing facility on the banks of the Columbia River -- potential visitors would likely keep on driving.

Of the millions Nestlé will make bottling Oregon's water, only a small fraction of it will stay in the region. The rest will go overseas, lining the pockets of executives and investors of the Swiss company. Not only will the Nestlé water bottling plant do little to improve Oregon's economy, it could actually cost the taxpayers money. The facility would increase demands on public infrastructure such as roads, electricity and wastewater, which would require costly upgrades. Nestlé has already stated publicly that it will not pay for road upgrades; those costs would have to be shouldered by taxpayers.

The state Water Resources Department should take into account the effects of the proposed water bottling facility and not approve the water exchange. But ultimate responsibility lies with Gov. John Kitzhaber, to whom the commission and the DFW report. If Kitzhaber allows this exchange to be approved, he's going to have to explain to more than 10,000 Oregonians who have asked him to stop Nestlé in Oregon. They will demand to know why he didn't stand up for Oregonians and protect our most prized essential resource: water.

Julia DeGraw is the Northwest organizer for Food & Water Watch (foodandwaterwatch.org).