Water activists take on bottled water.
Representatives from the group, Mike Balkwill and Karen Rathwell, were invited by professor Andrea Muehlebach to speak at the weekly ANT461H5S seminar regarding their campaign against Nestlé’s right to bottle and sell ground water in Ontario.
This was not a regular speaking invitation though—in fact, fourth-year anthropology students led the talk, as they questioned the two WWW representatives on various topics, such as whether grassroot organizations were the most effective way to campaign, if the media was beneficial to the cause or not, and what students themselves could do to help to reduce bottled water in their own communities.
This changed her perspective entirely, and later, upon switching schools, she went on to collaborate with the WWW on the project “Message In A Bottle,” where 40,000 bottles were distributed among children in schools to encourage the use of re-useable bottles.
Rathwell was in her fifth year as an activist with the organization, when in mid-2016, the WWW’s campaign against Nestlé began.
In this story, Balkwill characterized David as the WWW, while Goliath represented the Nestle company.
According to Balkwill, the regulations are structured so that if the government does not review the permit documentation in time, the permit application is “automatically extended until the government does their part.” “On August 1, […] we got up on our hind legs, and in false outrage—because we knew what the rules were—we said: ‘How can you let Nestle continue to pump water in a drought?’” said Balkwill.
Please leave some water for me —Molly.” This outrage, public protesting, and media attention helped push the federal government towards a moratorium on bottled water.
I’m a teacher—I love facts,” says Rathwell.
For example, Black Lives Matter (TO) polarized their issue when they halted the Pride Parade or camped out in front of the police headquarters, used the media to bring attention to their cause, and forced the public to pick a side.

“In 2016, bottled water overtook carbonates to become the leading soft drinks category in off-trade volume terms, an astonishing milestone a decade in the making,” it said.
While the fizzy soda category has experienced an annual volume sales decline since 2003, bottled water grew every year over the last two decades, except 2009 during the depths of the Great Recession, driven by consumer concerns about the effects of artificial sweeteners and sugar.
In the four decades since the launch of Perrier water in the U.S., consumption of bottled water surged 2,700%, from 354 million gallons in 1976 to 11.7 billion gallons in 2015, according to the International Bottled Water Association.
Scares over possible water contamination have helped boost demand for bottled water over the last few decades, experts say.
But what people don’t know: When they buy bottled water, they are often times drinking the same water that comes out of the tap.
A spokesman for the International Bottled Water Association says purified and spring water must meet Food & Drug Administration quality standards.
The U.S. was recently ranked 20th among 192 countries that could have contributed to plastic waste in the oceans, according to a 2015 study led by Jenna Jambeck, an environmental engineer at the University of Georgia and published in the academic journal Science.
Still, soda and sugary drinks may lead to an estimated 184,000 deaths each year among adults from diabetes, heart disease and other obesity-related illnesses, according to a landmark 2015 study by researchers at Tufts University published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation.
Several recent studies have linked diet soda and cardiovascular disease and showed a correlation (if not a causation) between cancer and aspartame.
The beverage industry says people who are overweight and already at risk for heart disease may consume more diet drinks in an attempt to control their weight and the Food and Drug Administration has ruled that artificial sweeteners are safe.

Mayor Tony Yarber passes out bottled water.
JACKSON COUNTY, MS (Mississippi News Now) – The clock is ticking.
We are now just hours away from the possibility of at least 40 thousand Jackson residents not having water.
There are staging areas where the city is passing out cases of water starting Friday at noon.
Thursday, Three-on-Your-Side caught up with Mayor Tony Yarber who was passing out water to the elderly and the indigent.
"I appreciate it," said Jackson resident Bobbie Williams.
I hope we don’t have to go any longer than the three days.
I pray not, but it will be alright."
Yarber said the city’s infrastructure problems are no secret.
"I just want to celebrate the citizens of Jackson and people around Jackson who have been coming together to make this thing as palatable as possible," added the Mayor.

National Grid to hand out dry ice & bottled water.
BUFFALO, NY– National Grid will have dry ice and bottled water available to those affected by the wind storm that knocked out power to thousands across WNY.
The dry ice and bottled water will be available from NOON to 5pm today (3/9) at: Wrights Corners Fire Company , 4043 Lake Ave., Lockport, NY City of Batavia Fire Department, 18 Evans Street, Batavia, NY Village Fire Station, 80 Owens Rd., Brockport, NY Water available at Wrights Corners Fire Co.
I’m told dry ice truck is at least an hour away.
@WGRZ pic.twitter.com/1gnhWirVYe — Heather Ly (@HeatherLyWGRZ) March 9, 2017 Niagara and Genesee counties were the two hardest hit counties in WNY.
“This was a very severe storm that came with extremely high winds and caused extensive damage to our electricity system,” said Melanie Littlejohn, National Grid’s New York vice president in a released statement.
“We remain in close contact with local emergency response teams and local officials as we continue our damage assessment to restoration efforts today.” More than 54,000 National Grid customers are still without power as of 1pm.

Bottled Water Sales Climb After Lead Square.
YERUSHALAYIM – Although health officials have stressed that there is nothing to worry about, the public remains concerned over reports that tap water in Israel has higher than desirable levels of lead – and as a result, sales of bottled water have skyrocketed over the past month, business daily TheMarker revealed.
According to a poll of retail stores, bottled water sales jumped 11.8 percent in January, with almost all the growth showing up in the last week of the month – right after a Health Ministry report said that there were higher than anticipated levels of lead in tap water in many Israeli cities.
Data for February has not yet been compiled, but storeowners who commented on the matter said that it appeared that the tend was continuing for that month as well.
In its report, the higher levels of lead were found in the water supplies of 29 towns and cities.
Despite that, said Professor Itamar Grotto, director of public health issues in the Health Ministry, there was no need to panic.
“The World Health Organization’s recommendations are not being violated in these places, and the danger from lead is negligible,” said Grotto.
The report was based on 6,000 spot checks of water quality over the past three years.
In the rare cases where there were problems, action to correct the issues were swift and effective.
There is no need to drink bottled or mineral water, the Ministry added; tap water in Israel was as good, or better, as any of the waters for sale.

Latest poll on Canada’s bottled water industry indicate government regulations misguided.
The poll, commissioned by the Canadian Bottled Water Association and carried out by Forum Research, includes findings that shed new light on Ontarians’ attitudes towards the industry, their consumption habits, and their views on the government’s approach to regulating the industry.
Nearly a third (32 percent) of respondents said the reason they purchased bottled water was due to convenience, and more than a quarter (28 percent) buy bottled water as an alternative to other bottled beverages.
Another key finding is more than half (52 percent) of those surveyed said they drink bottled water over tap water outside of the home, and that when it comes to recycling habits, 95 percent said they recycle their empty water bottles where recycling is available.
Significantly, nearly three quarters of those surveyed (72 percent) said they don’t think it’s fair for the government to increase fees for commercial groundwater takings if only bottled water companies are singled out and golf courses and other industries are exempt.
“This poll speaks to the issue of fairness and consumer choice and should be a wake-up call for the government who seem determined to make policy up on the fly, taking their cue from a small group of people intent on spreading misinformation and putting an entire industry that employs more than 2,000 people in this province at risk.” In addition to the massive 13,500 percent fee increase which only applies to the bottled ground water industry in Ontario, Premier Wynne went on the record last year suggesting she wants a bigger discussion on the entire future of the industry.
“We have been very clear that our industry is prepared to work in good faith throughout the consultation process and that a more thoughtful, science based, transparent approach needs to be taken,” said Griswold.
“What we aren’t prepared to accept is a review process where the outcome seems to be pre-determined.” Among some of the other findings of the poll are while 76 percent of respondents indicate they primarily drink tap water at home, over two-thirds of respondents (68 percent) also rejected the Ontario Liberal government limiting consumer options when it comes to what they eat or drink.
And 7 in 10 disagreed that bottled water produced in Ontario should be subject to additional government imposed charges when imported water is not required to pay those fees.
“For example, 74 percent of those polled didn’t know that our entire industry takes less than one percent of permitted groundwater takings in Ontario.

More than four years after a WPX Energy Appalachia wastewater impoundment leaked and contaminated the drinking water of five Westmoreland County families, the shale gas company has agreed to pay the state a $1.2 million penalty.
But the families still don’t have sufficient, permanent water supplies, said Melissa Marshall, community advocate for the Mountain Watershed Association, an environmental organization.
It is next to Donegal Lake, which drains into Loyalhanna Creek, a tributary of the Allegheny River.
“We quickly worked to rectify the situation from its onset, immediately emptying and ultimately closing a containment pond for recycled water as soon as we became aware of potential issues,” Mr. Swan said.
“Importantly, no individual’s health was ever at risk even by the most stringent state and EPA standards,” he said.
The company also installed single-faucet water filtration systems in the five homes, but according to Ms. Marshall, those systems don’t provide enough water.
The families, who live near Stahlstown, must supplement the filtered water with bottled water.
“The filtration systems are completely insufficient in providing for the water needs of the families, and that’s been true for years,” Ms. Marshall said.
This settlement doesn’t help the residents, who are still in dire need.” She said DEP consent orders issued over the past three years requiring WPX to replace the permanent residential water supplies don’t specify the amounts of water the company needs to provide, and the filtration systems the company installed in the five residences don’t come close to meeting the families’ needs.
“My interview notes say that on the high end, one family estimated the reverse osmosis system made three gallons every six hours.

Jackson officials: Residents should stock up on bottled water to prepare for upcoming water outage.
JACKSON, Miss.
(WJTV) — City of Jackson officials are asking residents to start purchasing bottled water to prepare for an upcoming water outage.
The city posted information about the required water outage and water main repair on its website.
City officials said the impacted areas are south and west Jackson.
City officials said the exact date of the repair would be announced soon.
The repair work is expected to last no more than 30 hours.
They hope to begin the work on a Friday and end late Saturday or early Sunday.
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La Mesa Spring Valley District Providing Students With Bottled Water.
The La Mesa-Spring Valley School district is providing students with bottled water pending results of water quality tests, the superintendent confirmed Monday.
The drinking water closures follow NBC7’s coverage of water quality concerns at two other school districts in San Diego County.
"We are in the process of testing and are providing bottled water until we have the results."
Marshall said the water closure was prompted by knowledge that a San Ysidro school had tested positive for lead "and our desire to make sure all of our water is safe for our students."
All but one school in the La Mesa-Spring Valley School district were built before 1986, which health experts say are more likely to have lead piping and may have lead in the water.
NBC 7 mapped out where schools in the county built before 1986 are located, and found they are spread out throughout the region.
Marshall said the cost of the water will be about $1,000 per week and the cost of testing will be about $250 to $500 per school, depending on the number of samples taken at the site.
He said district officials hope to have the results next week.
Earlier this month, NBC7 reported on the discovery of dangerous levels of lead in water at a San Ysidro elementary school.