Source: LOHAS Weekly Newsletter
Published: Friday, December 05, 2003

Nestlé Waters division damaging environment, says judge.

Despite permission from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to draw as many as 400 gallons per minute from wells in western Michigan, a circuit court judge has ordered Brea, Calif.-based Ice Mountain Spring Water Co. to cease operations. The ruling was in response to a suit filed by environmentalists who contended that Ice Mountain's operations have depleted lakes, streams and wetlands near the wells.

Environmentalists say the ruling sets the stage for water legislation in Michigan; Ice Mountain says it will appeal. In a Nov. 26 Associated Press article, an Ice Mountain spokeswoman states the operation pumps approximately 250 gallons per minute from its wells. Ice Mountain is a division of Nestlé Waters North America.