They hope to become the nation’s first.
In Hood River County Oregon, a first-in-the-nation ballot initiative to stop Nestle from buying public water may soon be up for a vote.
The ballot initiative aims to stop a convoluted water deal giving up water rights of both the state of Oregon and Hood River County to Nestle, resulting in the company selling the county’s water. The ballot initiative could stop the deal and sound a warning to Nestle and other water-bottling companies that local populations are rallying to protect their water rights.
Nestle’s plan has been in the pipeline for over 6 years. The deal has been under siege by local activists, including Native American populations living in the local area. Indigenous activist Anna Mae Leonard went on hunger strike in august this year to try to stop the deal from going through.
“It is intrinsically a desecration to sell that water,” Leonard told KOIN.
This pressure as well as creative work by local environmentalists has led to the ballot initiative. For this petition to get issued before the electorate the organizers must get at least 664 signatures.
The battle for potable water is going to be a major issue in the coming decades. Nestle has already been criticized for bottling water in the drought-stricken Colorado River basin, including parts of Southern California, where there have been water rationing measures enforced on the local populations. And just last year, the Maine Public Utilities Commission allowed the sale of Fryeburg, Maine’s water rights to Nestle ignoring public outcry. That decision was especially monumental, as two of the regulators who ruled in Nestle’s favor had previously recused themselves from the decision, citing previous deals with Nestle.
As scarcity of water spreads, local populations are becoming more resourceful in their efforts to preserve local water supplies. Committed activists like those in Hood River County are taking after the example of prior organizing efforts, like those in Cochabamba, Bolivia, to keep their water publicly-owned.
Thanks for taking the time to read this article. If you found this information helpful, please share it with your friends and family. Your support in our endeavor of sharing free information would be much appreciated.
Follow us on Facebook to stay updated with what's going Viral in the Alternative News scene. https://www.facebook.com/ViralAlternativeNews
