New challenge for Arrowhead bottled water pipes

Environmental activists have opened a new front in their long-running battle against a company that pipes water from the San Bernardino Mountains and bottles it for sale as Arrowhead brand bottled water.

In a petition to the state, several environmental groups and local activists called on the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to investigate, arguing that BlueTriton Brands is harming wildlife habitat and species by pumping water that flows into Strawberry Creek. .

Rachel Doughty, an attorney with the environmental nonprofit Story of Stuff Project, said those opposed to taking water from the San Bernardino National Forest want state agencies to assess environmental impacts and uphold protections under state law.

“They’ve dewatered the creek,” Doughty said.

If the company doesn’t siphon water in its pipeline network, she said, Strawberry Creek “will become a habitat for endangered species, it will provide a downstream water supply, it will support fish, but it can’t do any of those things without water.”

A coalition of environmental groups and activists said on May 13 petition State agencies should require the company to apply for authorizations for its pipelines and other infrastructure, known as streambed modification agreements, and should examine whether ongoing water diversions violate state environmental laws.

The groups said the company’s water withdrawals “have resulted in the extinction of native species and the destruction of riparian habitats – a clear breach of public trust.” They urged the state to “take all appropriate enforcement action.”

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Activists who have been trying to shut down the company’s bottled water pipeline have appealed to wildlife agencies eight months after the state Water Control Board shutdown vote to order the company Stop “unauthorized diversion” of water from springs in the San Bernardino Mountains.

State officials determined the company was illegally diverting water without valid water rights. But the BlueTriton brand Prosecution Challenge The Fresno County Superior Court ruling found the process was fraught with problems and the company had a right to the water.

A spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said the agency has received the petition and is evaluating it.

BlueTriton Brands responded to the petition in an email.

“Responsible and proactive water management is at the core of everything we do. We are proud of the work we do at Strawberry Canyon and will continue to do so, researching, reporting and managing our operations to help protect land and natural resources,” the company said. “We will continue to comply with all state and federal laws.”

The company also said it will “work with people in our communities, governments, policymakers, businesses and consumers to sustainably protect and shape our shared future.”

But Steve Lowe, a retired biologist who worked for the San Bernardino National Forest, said the state should require the company to stop taking water from creeks and ecosystems.

“BlueTriton has completely dried up the stream, and BlueTriton needs to put some water back into the stream to meet state and federal requirements,” Loe said. “Restoring water to Strawberry Creek will make a huge difference to the watershed for all plant and animal species.”

He said restoring water to the habitat would help endangered bird species such as the southwestern willow flycatcher and at least the bell’s greenback, as well as other species including the mountain yellow-legged frog and southern rubber python.

Flowing creeks can also support the return of native fish, such as the Santa Ana spotted dace, he said.

In the petition, Loe and others cited historical records describing the springs and creeks from nearly a century ago, including field notes and reports from WP Rowe, an engineer who began surveying the watershed in 1929.

Rowe writes that Strawberry Creek flows from “the headwaters of a group of springs” to the southern slopes of the San Bernardino Mountains, through a forest filled with “alder, sycamore, dogwood and cedar trees as well as ferns and thimble berry thickets.” canyon.

Loy said records show the stream was flowing and supporting thriving riparian habitat before the water was pumped out for bottling, but now much of the area is dry.

“This is public water,” Lowy said. “The public has a right to push for its protection.”

“I hope the creek has water back this summer,” he said.

In a court-argued decision, the state water board ordered the company to stop taking water for bottling from most of its catchment tunnels and boreholes in the mountains north of San Bernardino.

Records show flows through the company’s pipeline network were about 158 ​​acre feet (51 million gallons) in 2022.

A system of 4-inch steel pipes collects water flowing from various points on the steep hillside above the stream.

Pipes lead to roadside water tanks, and some of the water is trucked away, bottled and sold as Arrowhead 100% mountain spring water.

Local activists have been calling on state and federal authorities for years to shut down bottled water pipes. National forest water use sparks controversy 2015 Desert Sun investigation It was revealed that the U.S. Forest Service allowed Nestlé to continue pumping water using a permit that listed 1988 as an expiration date.

The Forest Service then Start review Nestlé’s license and in 2018 grant new license up to five years. Nestle’s incident piping water from national forest raises concerns Opposition arose one after another and sparked several complaints to California regulators questioning the company’s water rights claims, leading the state to investigation.

BlueTriton Brands took over the bottled water business in 2021 when Nestlé’s North American bottled water unit was acquired by private equity firm One Rock Capital Partners and investment firm Metropoulos & Co.

BlueTriton and the business’s previous owners have had federal “special use” permits for years that allowed them to use pipelines and other water infrastructure in the San Bernardino National Forest.

The Forest Service has always charged an annual permit fee, currently $2,500 per year. There is no charge for using water.

San Bernardino National Forest spokesman Gustavo Bahena said BlueTriton’s 2018 permit expired in August and the company has submitted an application to renew it and Forest Service officials are working on Review the application.

“Because Blue Triton made a timely request to renew the permit, the current permit remains in effect … until the forest makes a decision on their new request,” Bachner said in an email.

Other groups petitioning the state include Save Our Forests, the Center for Biological Diversity, the local chapter of the Sierra Club, the Southern California Native Freshwater Animal Working Group and the Tri-County Conservation Alliance.

Amanda Frye, an activist who has played a leading role in the movement, said she believes the Forest Service has failed in its responsibility to manage public lands and resources.

“We still have a dry creek,” Fry said.

“Something has to change,” she said. “We have a right to protect these resources.”