John Challinor, Nestle Waters Canada’s director of corporate affairs, anticipates a favourable decision on an appeal of an agreement reached between the company and the Ministry of Environment regarding water taking in Hillsburgh.
Late last month, the Council of Canadians and Wellington Water Watchers (WWW), with legal representation from Ecojustice, requested to be parties in the hearings involving Nestlé’s water taking in Hillsburgh.
In February, the two groups won the right to challenge a proposed agreement between Nestlé and the Ministry of Environment (MOE), which would permit water withdrawals from a shared water source during low water conditions.
WWW chair Mike Nagy explained, “The reference to the shared water resource is a general term as there is connectivity to this well which is part of our concern and previous submissions to the MOE etc.
“We feel this requires broader study. Also this is a deep well where the pump is located but that does not mean it is isolated from the rest of the greater aquifer. Again we have supplied technical comment to the MOE regarding this and potential connectivity to the Credit River system.”
The current agreement stems from Nestlé’s appeal of an MOE ruling requiring the company to reduce its water taking during times of drought.
The Council of Canadians and WWW say both Nestlé and the MOE opposed their attempts to intervene, but those arguments were rejected by the Environmental Review Tribunal (ERT).
By gaining party status through the ERT, the groups hope to ensure the local aquifer is protected.
“We wish we could ensure the protection. We are working hard in defence of water resources in the area,” said Nagy. “By becoming parties to the ERT the public can feel confident that we are doing everything possible … to try and protect the resource.”
Last March, the two groups formally requested a review of Ontario’s Permit To Take Water process as it applies to licenses granted by the province to bottle water, urging Ontario to overhaul its “outdated and narrow approach” which they say is inconsistent with the Public Trust Doctrine.
The groups are concerned that under the proposed agreement, Nestlé’s ability to take up to approximately 1.1 million litres of water per day from Hillsburgh for its bottling operations in Aberfoyle will not be subject to mandatory restrictions during droughts.
The City of Guelph issued a red alert last summer requiring a 20% mandatory reduction in water use by city residents due to drought conditions.
Wellington County farmers, livestock producers and residents were seriously impacted when they experienced the worst drought in over a decade last summer.
Guelph-Eramosa Township, neighbouring township to the Town of Erin, was on level 2 restrictions (yellow alert) well into November.
On Feb. 19, the groups learned that Nestlé and the Ministry of the Environment struck a deal to allow Nestlé to pump water for its bottled water operation without restrictions during level 1 or level 2 droughts.
A preliminary Environmental Appeals Tribunal on the matter was held in Hillsburgh on Feb. 21.
“The summer of 2012 saw debilitating drought to the extent that some municipalities were on water restrictions right through November, Guelph-Eramosa for example,” says Nagy.
“The stress on municipal and private wells was enormous; not only was it dry, but record-breaking temperatures ensued for weeks. This was not the only summer with these conditions – climate change is contributing to dramatic alterations in weather patterns and extended drought periods that we’re feeling locally.”
Under the conditions of the permit renewal, Nestlé was mandated by the Ministry of Environment (MOE) to reduce their water pumping by 10 per cent during level 1 drought, and 20% during level 2 drought.
The company has taken issue with this limitation.
However, Challinor said the issue was not with reduced water drawing during times of drought, but whether the MOE had the authority to mandate such a move.
Late last year, Nestlé Waters Canada announced it has received a five-year permit renewal to draw water at its Hillsburgh production well.
The permit, which expires on Aug. 31, 2017, allows Nestlé Waters to draw 204 gallons a minute, on average, over a 30-day period, which is unchanged from what the company was permitted to draw in its previous permit.
The MOE’s technical review filed with the environmental registry concluded the continuation of the water taking in Hillsburgh is sustainable for a five-year term and poses no threat to other users or groundwater resources.
The permit contains conditions to protect existing water users and safeguard the natural environment, and the ministry says it will continue to closely oversee Nestlé’s water taking to ensure it is carefully managed.
Over the last 12-month period, an annual report filed with the MOE indicates the company drew about 40 per cent of the spring water it is permitted to take under the terms and conditions of its permit. This figure has remained within the 13% to 70% range since Nestlé Waters purchased the well in 2000.
In an telephone interview with the Wellington Advertiser, Challinor explained the spike rates within the permit.
The spike rate allows water drawing at a volume higher than what might be permitted on a daily basis, providing the overall amount of water drawn does not exceed what is allowed within a 30-day period.
He said the result is that the company is not taking more water on a daily basis – but may do so for short periods of time. That situation, he noted, is unchanged from the company’s previous permit to draw water.
The Hillsburgh well has been in use since 1988 and the water is used for bottled water customers.
The facility is in operation year round, but Challinor said the draw from the well is dependent on company requirements, which are lighter at certain times of the year.
He stressed the company also responds to complaints lodged by the community.
Yet, Challinor said, he had not heard a traffic complaint from local residents in nearly a year.
“We take community concerns very seriously,” he said, stressing that if the public has concerns “they can call us.”
He explained the concern raised by Nestlé in discussion with the ministry, is that the original permit would have made observing and scaling back operations during drought conditions mandatory rather than voluntary.
Challinor said that the call on drought conditions is made by local conservation authorities such as the Grand River Conservation Authority – not the province.
He stressed Nestlé is one of the industries in the Grand River watershed which does comply and scale back operations on a voluntary basis when drought conditions are announced.
Challinor added the voluntary cutback has been enacted a half dozen times. The point, he said, is that his company feels the ministry has no authority to make it mandatory.
And a settlement was reached, he said. He anticipated that terms of that settlement will be announced later this month.
Challinor also pointed out Nestlé draws from deep wells in the aquifer – not from creeks or rivers – which are generally more impacted by drought conditions.
He agreed objections were made to having WWW and the Council of Canadians being named parties in the discussion.
Challinor said one of the groups has no direct interest in the matter. The other point, he said, is the groups had four months in which to provide hydrogeologic studies to back up their points – and did not do so.
Challinor contends the agreement with the MOE was more of a misunderstanding relating to who mandates what during drought conditions. He said the issue was more of an administrative error than an issue of the sustainability of the water supply.
Challinor added the hearing had not brought any new information to the table.
He stressed that since its opening in 1988, there have been no issues with the well in Hillsburgh – or with neighbours.
And he did not anticipate problems under proper management of the well for the next 100 to 150 years.
While Nestlé operates just two wells in Wellington County, at Aberfoyle and Hillsburgh, Challinor pointed out in Nestlé’s world-wide operations, it had wells in France, Italy and the United States which have been in operation for 150-plus years.
“Our intent is to have properly managed wells for generations to come,” Challinor said.
“That is our promise to both the communities of Hillsburgh and Puslinch.”
