By Jennifer Swacina When I first heard about Nestlé mining water— right here in Chaffee County—I wished I had been here in 2009 to have joined those who rallied against it. Be careful what you wish for! In late 2019, I happened to read an article covering a routine county commissioner’s meeting with discussion that …
To the Editor, Chaffee County commissioners are considering renewing Nestlé Waters permit to extract up to 65 million gallons of water per year for another ten years. Up to 25 trucks per day are permitted to haul water 130 miles to Denver, where the water is packaged in single-use plastic bottles and sold under the …
(and other items of interest)
Nestlé Permit Granted
SALIDA – Despite overwhelming public opposition, the Nestlé Corporation of Vevey, Switzerland was given unanimous consent on August 26 by the Chaffee County Commissioners for its application to remove water from a private spring adjacent to the Arkansas River and truck it to Denver to be bottled and sold.
by John Orr
Nestlé Waters Chaffee County Project
As we go to press the Chaffee County Commissioners have yet to issue or deny Nestlé Waters a permit to build their pipeline, pumphouse and loading facilities to truck water from the Hagen Spring out of basin to Denver. The company bottles spring water under the brand name Arrowhead and has a facility for doing so down in the flatlands. The plan is to run tanker trucks over Trout Creek Pass, across South Park, over Kenosha Pass down U.S. 285 to the Denver Metro area.
By John Orr
Nestlé Waters’ Chaffee County project update
Most Colorado Central readers already know about Nestlé Waters North America’s plans to export water out of the Arkansas River Basin — from springs they’ve purchased near Nathrop — to their bottling plant in Denver. Nestlé plans to restore the area around the springs (Bighorn Spring and Hagen Spring), drill a couple of supply wells in the shallow aquifer, build two pump houses and pipe the water five miles to a new loading station along U.S. 285 near Johnson Village.
Buena Vista developer files for Chapter 7
BUENA VISTA – A major property developer in Buena Vista has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Dean Hiatt, who ran his business as Vista Builders filed for bankruptcy on January 28.
It is estimated he built nearly 350 homes and multiple commercial properties since the early 1990s in Buena Vista, Leadville and Salida. The company was responsible for building extensive subdivisions in Chaffee County.
By Carl Hiaasen
(Originally published in the March 8, 2009 edition of the Miami Herald)
You probably thought there was a serious water shortage in Florida.
It’s why we’re spending billions to repair and repurify the Everglades, right? It’s why we’re not supposed to run our lawn sprinklers more than once or twice a week.