On May 1, CTV reported, “The Ministry of the Environment has renewed the water taking permit for Nestle Water Canada at its Aberfoyle operation. …The Ministry outlined its decision in a letter sent with the new permit including information received from the City of Guelph.” The Wellington Advertiser adds, “The company applied for a 10-year renewal to extract up to 3.6 million litres of water a day from its well on Brock Road in Aberfoyle. The MOE decided on the shorter permit at the same level, but that seemed to suit Nestlé officials fine.”
In a March 2 action alert encouraging people to submit comments opposing the Nestle application, the Council of Canadians stated, “Bottled water has harmful impacts on our environment. With climate change and Canada’s dwindling water sources, we need to preserve our water sources for our use and future generations use. Water is a human right, global commons and public trust. Water should not be used for private gain.” On March 5, our Guelph chapter participated in a march – from Guelph to the Nestle plant in Aberfoyle – against Nestle’s permit application.
A Guelph Mercury article notes, “The province revealed that it received 1,015 public comments in relation to the Nestle application.”
The Wellington Advertiser reports, “Guelph-based advocacy group the Wellington Water Watchers is disappointed with the decision. ‘We’re unhappy with it for many reasons … we don’t believe it’s a responsible permit,’ said Wellington Water Watchers member Mike Nagy. He called a five-year term ‘unacceptable’, especially considering stricter regulations from the province could be introduced as early as this year. ‘And there’s no volume reduction, which is a major disappointment,’ Nagy added.”
CTV reports, “The Wellington Water Watchers will be meeting to consider their options for an appeal. They have until May 14th to file.”
For updates, please see the Wellington Water Watchers website at http://www.wellingtonwaterwatchers.ca/.
