A years-long battle has occurred over the commercial extraction of water from public lands in the San Bernadino Mountains in sunny California.
Now, the U.S. Forest Service has stepped in to potentially put an end to the company that sells Arrowhead bottled water by illegally siphoning water through its pipeline, collecting runoff from the natural springs in the area.
Arrowhead Bottled Water
Arrowhead bottled water is owned by BlueTriton Brands. Last month, the Forest Service notified them that their application for a new permit had been denied.
The company is now attempting to challenge the decision in court. However, the District Ranger, Micheal Nobles, wrote in the July 26 letter that the company “must cease operations” in the San Bernardino National Forest and submit a new plan to remove all of their existing pipes and equipment from federal lands.
A Win For Environmental Activists
Several environmental groups praised the decision: “It’s a huge victory after 10 years.”
She added, “I’m hoping that we can restore Strawberry Creek, have its springs flowing again, and get the habitat back.” Groups claim that BlueTriton’s operations have dramatically decreased water flow in the mountains and have caused significant environmental harm in the area.
The Lawsuit That Sparked the Change
Earlier this month, a local environmental group called Save Our Forest Association, filed a lawsuit against the agency that was illegally allowing BlueTriton Brands to operate under a permit well past its expiration date.
The team with Save Our Forest notes that even small actions can have big impacts. Environmental groups often have vastly smaller resources than large conglomerates and often have a hard time using the law on their side.
BlueTriton Brands Fires Back
The company immediately responded that the use of water does not harm the environment or the surrounding wildlife and that it should be allowed to continue operations in the mountains.
In an email, BlueTriton Brands said they and their associates “have continuously operated under a series of special use permits for nearly a century.” The company added “This denial has no legal merit, is unsupported by the facts, and negatively impacts the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians,” who use the pipeline to secure water for firefighting needs.
Arrowhead Spring Water Could Be Taken Off Shelves
If the National Forest Service is able to uphold the decision, the namesake brand, Arrowhead 100% Mountain Spring Water will be pulled from shelves as soon as the last of the water reserves run out.
The product has been sold to consumers for generations and uses the classic shape of the San Bernardino mountains as the classic label.
The Water Has Been Essentially Free for Generations
Until now, the parent company has been paying roughly $2,500 per year for the permit to siphon off water. However, the water the company sells has absolutely no charge related to it. This means that the company has been selling free products for decades.
Usually, companies need to pay for the raw products that they sell for a profit, upcharging for convenience or somehow changing the item.
Nestlé Had a Similar Water Controversy
Over the past decade, environmental groups have been paying close attention to bottled water companies, alleging that they often profit from public lands and charge incredibly high profits by stealing resources and, in turn, diverting water from nature or Indigenous groups.
In 2015, the Desert Sun reported that the Forest Service was allowing mega-corporation Nestlé to siphon water using a permit with an expiration date of 1988. At that time, the Forest Service issued a new permit in 2018 that granted use for up to five years.
Water Rights
The controversy over water and land rights has been a major talking point for Indigenous-backed groups and environmental teams in recent years. For-profit companies’ taking water and leaving toxins behind have caused major issues in the natural world that are now becoming undeniable.
At the same time, cities often charge consumers, residents, and farmers dramatic rates to use water pumps or publicly available water sources. The issues confound a growing problem that big companies seem to get all the benefits of public use while residents pay.
BlueTriton Took Over the Nestlé Deal
In 2021, BlueTriton Brands took over the Nestlé public lands deal when its North American bottled water division was bought out by private equity firm One Rock Capital Partners and investing firm Metropoulops & Co.
State officials were determined to prove that the company has been diverting too much water without valid rights. Residents, consumer rights, and environmentalist groups all agreed that billionaire-backed investment firms were the last groups that should have access to free water.
The Company Was Lying About Where the Water Was Going
After finally having their permit taken away, the company responded by saying that more than 90% of the water was being diverted to the old hotel property at the base of the mountains also owned by BlueTriton Brands.
However, the Forest Service noted that “The hotel and conference facility on the property is not operating, and there is no explanation of where the millions of gallons of water per month are going.”
Millions of Gallons of Water Used for Profit
Records show that in 2023 alone, more than 104 million gallons of water flowed through the company’s pipes.
The Forest Service and investigators believe that the vast majority of this free water is being used to profit from bottled water. Indigenous groups in the area how to restore natural water flow to the mountains to allow flora and fauna to thrive.
