In California, Nestle has been using a permit that expired 27 years ago to bottle water

Nestle Waters North America has been piping water out of a Southern California national forest on a permit that expired in 1988, and now U.S. Forest Service officials say they will make it a priority to look into the issue and carry out an environmental analysis.

The company's pipeline taps into springs in Strawberry Canyon, north of San Bernardino, and the water is then bottled as Arrowhead 100 percent Mountain Spring Water. The Desert Sun also found that under a permit that expired in 1994, the Cucamonga Valley Water District draws water from Deer Canyon Springs, and is contracted to sell the water to Nestle for bottling. Instead of stopping Nestle from taking the water on an expired permit, the Forest Service might impose "interim conditions" while they go through the permit renewal process, but San Bernardino National Forest Supervisor Jody Noiron did not say what those conditions would be.

Several biologists are calling for an immediate stop to the use of water from Strawberry Canyon and Deer Canyon, and 135,000 people have signed a petition launched by Courage Campaign, denouncing Nestle's actions. "While California is facing record drought conditions, it is unconscionable that Nestle would continue to bottle the state's precious water, export it, and sell it for profit," the petition states. Nestle says it isn't causing any harm, and "while responsible management is expected and essential, bottled water is such a small user that to focus on our industry as a material concern in water policy debates is misguided."

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