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Bottled Water Bill Moves Forward in CA State Senate

Washington, DC—Consumer organizations working to halt the privatization of California’s water resources won a small victory yesterday when the California State Senate’s Appropriations Committee voted in favor of AB 2275, a bill to enforce stricter disclosure standards for water-bottling companies. AB 2275 would require businesses licensed to bottle, vend, haul or distribute bottled water to report the source of the water as either from a well, lake, river or spring; the location of the source and whether that source is privately or publicly owned. The bill will next go before the full Senate for vote.

“We applaud the Appropriations Committee’s support of water bottling disclosure and their commitment to protecting California’s natural resources from corporate control,” said Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director of Food & Water Watch. “California's constitution states that water belongs to all of us and should be managed as a public trust. As water becomes an increasingly scarce resource, we have a right to know how much of it is being taken for private profit.”

The advancement of AB 2775 comes at precisely the right time as Nestle attempts to open a bottled water plant in McCloud, California. If approved, the plant would take millions of gallons of water from the community a year. 

“The California Senate should vote to pass AB 2275 and Governor Schwarzenegger should ratify it,” said Hauter.

Food & Water Watch is a nonprofit consumer rights organization that challenges the corporate control and abuse of our food and water resources. Visit www.foodandwaterwatch.org.