Coca-Cola has been taking free water from a bore in Karragullen for decades, to sell as bottled water. As Perth endures one of its driest ever spells, questions are being asked about what that means for the region.
Ultimately it is being used for drinking water. So I’m not too disturbed that the water is being extracted. It simply needs to not be free. That’s the community’s water. You want some? Pay for it. Hell, given the price of scheme water (not too much), trucking it can’t be that much cheaper than paying Water Corp.
I don’t have such an issue with orchards and farms taking it for free, because they’re turning around and putting it straight back into the local ecosystem. Also, that water is used for growing plants which take carbon out of the atmosphere.
But Coke? They’re taking it, putting it in bottles and removing it from the aquifer system. As though the water was theirs from the outset. It isn’t.
Ultimately it is being used for drinking water. So I’m not too disturbed that the water is being extracted. It simply needs to not be free. That’s the community’s water. You want some? Pay for it. Hell, given the price of scheme water (not too much), trucking it can’t be that much cheaper than paying Water Corp.
I don’t have such an issue with orchards and farms taking it for free, because they’re turning around and putting it straight back into the local ecosystem. Also, that water is used for growing plants which take carbon out of the atmosphere.
But Coke? They’re taking it, putting it in bottles and removing it from the aquifer system. As though the water was theirs from the outset. It isn’t.
100% agree, they will know how much water they have removed to the millilitre.
I hope they do not let up on making these companies pay for and provide proof of sustainable use/management of our water sources.
Individuals that are not removing the ground water from the ecosystem is not the issue here.