For years, Nestlé Waters North has been trying to secure the rights to bottle water from Oregon’s Oxbow Springs in Hood River County, planning to build a bottled water facility at the Port of Cascade Locks. Nestlé has been accused of going about it in unethical ways:
Backers of a Hood River County ballot measure to block a proposed water bottling plant in Cascade Locks are accusing Nestlé of illegally hiding its contributions to a political action committee opposing the measure.
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Nestlé Waters North America has directed $105,000 to the group, called the Coalition for a Strong Gorge Economy. That's 90 percent of its reported funding so far.
Opponents of the bottling plant contend that Nestlé has been secretly bankrolling the campaign for months while failing to report its cash or in-kind contributions of staff time in a timely fashion.
Astroturf group or not, yesterday, Oregon voters resoundingly rejected the large bottled water operation:
Around 68% of residents voted “yes” on ballot measure 14-55, blocking Nestle’s years-long battle to establish a bottling facility and export 118 million gallons of water a year from Oxbow Springs.
“This is really a resounding victory for everyone who cares about protecting not only our water supply, but water supplies around the world,” Aurora del Val said
Oregon residents have successfully fended off Nestle’s efforts to get water from Oxbow Springs since 2008. It remains to be seen whether Nestle will continue with their efforts to build a bottling plant in Oxbow Springs. Based on this January 2016 article, they seem unwilling to give up:
Nestlé and Cascade Locks officials are prepared to wait as long as necessary to get the Oxbow water, which Palais said, “some customers simply prefer.”
Nestlé, for its part, continues to court the town's residents with free barbecues and donations of money and bottled water for community events.
“We have made our commitment to the community clear in our actions,” Palais said.
For now, score one for the little guys. For now.