Nestlé Waters Canada is looking to renew its water taking permit in Aberfoyle for another 10 years.
But the Wellington Water Watchers consider the industry as unsustainable and would like to see operations phased out – in addition to stopping expansion to nearby Elora.
On April 11 Nestlé submitted a Permit to Take Water (PTTW) renewal application for the Aberfoyle water source to the Ontario Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MOECC).
The renewal application requests no increase to the current water taking limit of 3.6-million litres daily over a ten year period. The previous permit renewal was approved for five years only.
Within the next few weeks, the MOECC will publish the application on the Ontario Environmental Registry (EBR) for public review and comment.
Following the standard 30-day regulatory consultation period, the ministry will review comments in accordance with the Environmental Bill of Rights and make a decision on the Aberfoyle permit renewal.
In a separate process, Nestlé has applied for a pump test to evaluate a potential supplementary well in Elora (Middlebrook source).
Nestlé Waters Canada
In a conference call with the Wellington Advertiser, Cedric Focking Schneider, Nestlé Canada corporate affairs and Andreanne Simard, Nestlé Waters natural resource management, spoke on the long-term sustainability of the project.
Simard, who expects the public comment period to begin in two to three weeks, said Nestlé’s current permit to take water in Aberfoyle ends in July.
“This is a normal straightforward renewal process,” she said. “In our renewal application, we’re not asking for any more water. We are asking for the same amount we are currently permitted.
“We are committed to the long-term sustainability of the water source and the ecosystem – whether we ask for 10 years or five years.”
Simard said Nestlé’s continuous data monitoring – the company has over 80 monitoring points in the area where data is collected hourly – allows the company to undertake “timely and adaptive management” of the resource.
“Also a 10-year permit is not abnormal in our industry. We view this as a very reasonable request,” she added.
Focking Schneider said it is important to note that Nestlé has 15 years of monitoring data at the Aberfoyle location.
Simard added that data indicates “we are not having a long-term impact on the sustainability of the aquifer or the ecosystem.”
She noted that while daily water drawing volumes fluctuate, on an annual basis “we typically draw only 60 per cent of our allotted capacity on average.” She stressed, “We’ve shared all of our information with the stakeholders.”
Simard also mentioned the Elora site, stating Nestlé continues to operate its community information office. However, Simard said the application to undertake a pump test is still under review with the ministry.
Wellington Water Watchers
Wellington Water Watchers volunteer board of directors member Robert Case said his group’s position is that “it seems unreasonable that this type of activity could possibly be sustainable, both the practice of drawing that amount of water, and the large scale use of plastics and the fuels used in shipping.
“We are opposed to this industry and think it should be phased out.”
On the Aberfoyle permit in particular, Case said, “We’re not taking a hard opposition to it … but we don’t think it should be for 10 years.”
Case said because people rely on jobs at Nestlé in Aberfoyle, a direct close would be disastrous for them. Instead, he suggested approval of a permit that would allow the company to phase out operations.
“That is the message we would like the ministry to convey,” said Case. “Our bigger opposition is about Nestlé’s expansion to Elora.”
Case said Nestlé is working on a 10-year permit for up to 3.6-million litres per day in Aberfoyle, another 1.1-million in Hillsburgh, and is now looking for another 1.6-million in Elora.
“We just think that is too much,” he told the Advertiser. “We are encouraging people to send their views in to the ministry – we certainly will be.”
Case said there is some evidence from one of Nestlé’s annual reports in 2015, reviewed by a Wellington Water Watchers hydrologist, that water levels in the Aberfoyle aquifer did decline between 2011 and 2015.
“That was the same period in which Nestlé had increased its water taking – so to us there is some question whether this is having a direct environmental impact. We want this reviewed very carefully,” said Case.
But overall, Case said the Wellington Water Watchers group is concerned about “the transfer of an overall public good – water – into corporate profit making.”
Case noted social media efforts are beginning to ramp up, but the group still in the midst of articulating a position on the Aberfoyle permit.
“We’ve been busy supporting the folks up in Elora, there is quite a broad base of opposition to the proposed Nestlé well there – which we hope the government will take very seriously.”
He added, “But we are gearing up for sure to let people know about this Aberfoyle renewal permit.”
