Nestlé, a Swiss corporation with an extensive history of paying a pittance to drain water from some of our most water-challenged areas just to sell it back to us in single-use plastic bottles at a hefty profit, has requested a permit renewal which will be decided on OCTOBER 22 in Chaffee Country, Colorado. 

Despite significant public outcry against the original 2009 permit, which expired last fall, the County Commissioners approved the corporate request. In advance of the permit renewal, there is a large and coordinated effort by locals and concerned citizens who are against the renewal, and by extension, the 13th largest corporation in the world.

Unbottle and Protect Chaffee County Water, LLC has put together an extremely informative website full of resources related to this specific permit, the issues and ethics of bottled water, and the practices and principles of Nestlé itself. Particularly eye-opening and appalling is a video of CEO Peter Brabeck-Letmathe explaining his belief that water should be classified as ‘a foodstuff,’ valued accordingly, and privatized. Additionally, they have created a Facebook group to share information and plans. 

The Chaffee County Commission has scheduled three public hearings related to this request, on OCTOBER 20 & OCTOBER 22. Attendance options are: in-person, via Zoom, or by telephone. 

Several groups have also produced petitions against renewal, including Unbottle and Protect, SumOfUs, and Change.

Please consider adding YOUR voice against the ongoing and increasing environmental degradation and abuse solely for the benefit of giant corporations and their rich shareholders, at the expense of our Western lands, waters, and the communities that depend on them for their very survival.