Community Activists Defeat Water Bottler in New Hampshire

Posted by Tara Lohan, AlterNet at 10:51 AM on June 19, 2008.

While the champagne might not be popping just yet in New Hampshire, there is good reason to celebrate for members of Save Our Groundwater and other concerned residents. After years of fighting against the attempt by USA Springs to draw over 300,000 gallons of a water a day from underground aquifers to be used for bottled water, it looks like the water bottler is pulling out of the area.

Just last week it was announced that the 100-acre property owned by the company will be put up for auction on June 30 after announcing foreclosure and the 176,000-square-foot bottled water facility that was planned looks to be scrapped.

The company's official statement read:

The recently published foreclosure notice is merely a procedural step to maintain the lender's position with respect to a complicated situation, which includes a legal dispute and involves confidential information. Some of the issues are related to refinancing delays attributable to the troubled credit market in these difficult economic times.

The company expects to move past this lender issue relatively quickly and offers its strong assurance that there will not be a foreclosure auction on June 30, 2008. The main focus of the company is on completing the construction and becoming operational.

As the local paper Foster's Daily Democrat reported, "Regardless of the outcome, the seven-year struggle is a testament of the efforts of area residents who are concerned about protecting natural resources, especially the underground reservoirs that provide water to the region."

Residents still have a lot of questions about what the company's actions may mean and what will happen to the land. You can follow what's happening at Save Our Groundwater.

Tagged as: water, bottled water, water privatization

Tara Lohan is a managing editor at AlterNet.