California Regulators Order Arrowhead, the Bottled Water Company, to Stop Drawing Water From Some Mountain Springs

Arrowhead, the bottled water company owned by BlueTriton Brands, formerly known as Nestlé Waters North America, will no longer be able to pull the same amount of water from a spring in the San Bernardino Mountains. 

On Tuesday, officials with the State Water Resources Control Board in California ordered the brand to stop taking water out of natural springs found in the region, which the brand has used since its inception in 1885. 

“I understand a huge amount of money and business is at stake,” Laurel Firestone, one of the board members, stated, according to the Associated Press. “It also is important for us that no matter how much money is involved that we are going to ensure that the laws of our state are upheld and that they apply to everybody.”

The fight has been an ongoing legal battle between the brand and environmental and community groups for years. The latter two have stated for nearly a decade that the brand not only is depleting the region’s water, thus negatively affecting a delicate ecosystem, but also argued the company no longer holds valid water rights for the spring.

“We’re incredibly pleased this unlawful removal of the public’s water from public lands will finally end,” Michael O’Heaney, the executive director of the nonprofit Story of Stuff Project, told The Los Angeles Times.

As The Times noted, the battle for the water truly began in 2015 following an investigation by the Desert Sun, which showed that the bottled water company had been continuing to pull water out of the national forest with a permit that expired in 1988. The investigation showed that the Forest Service allowed the water company to continue to use the spring, despite cracking down on local residents for drawing water from the same source when their permits came up for renewal. In 2018, following the publication of the investigation, the Forest Service granted the company a new permit, which expired in five years.

To be clear, the order does not halt the company from operations entirely. As the AP reported, it does, however, significantly reduce how much water it is allowed to pull from the area. The company must immediately stop water collection at 10 sites but has been left free use of three boreholes.

For its part, BlueTriton Brands told reporters it plans to sue to block the order, adding it will “vigorously defend our water rights through available legal process.” Lawyers for the company additionally argue that because the company has used the water since well before 1914, when regulations began, it has seniority. Additionally, the lawyers note that because the water is taken from underground, not from the surface, the State Water Resources Control Board has no jurisdiction over its use. 

According to The Times, the company must comply with the order by November 1. It also has 30 days to appeal.