California Orders Bottled Water Company to Stop Drawing From Natural Springs Needed for Wildlife Habitat and Wildfire Protection

The California State Water Resources Control Board has ordered Arrowhead bottled water’s parent company BlueTriton to significantly reduce the amount of water it takes from natural springs in the San Bernardino National Forest. The company has been drawing water from the Strawberry Creek watershed, which provides protection from wildfires and serves as an important wildlife habitat, for over a century.

Community groups were happy with the ruling, saying BlueTriton never had permission to take the water from public lands.

“We’re incredibly pleased this unlawful removal of the public’s water from public lands will finally end,” said Michael O’Heaney, executive director of nonprofit Story of Stuff Project, as the Los Angeles Times reported.

In 1885, a hotel opened at the foot of the San Bernardino Mountains, and Arrowhead started selling its bottled spring water out of the hotel’s basement in 1906, reported The Guardian. However, according to community and environmental groups, the company was never permitted to take the national forest springwater.

The water resources control board cease and desist order does not completely prohibit the company from taking the water, just reduces the amount it can take.

“I understand a huge amount of money and business is at stake,” said Laurel Firestone, a member of the water resources control board, as the Associated Press reported. “It also is important for us that no matter how much money is involved that we are going to ensure that the laws of our state are upheld and that they apply to everybody.”

BlueTriton said it would sue to defend its water rights, arguing that it had been drawing from the springs since before the state started regulating water use in 1914, which meant it had seniority, reported The Guardian.

The company added that a court case from 1931 ruled it was legally entitled to use of the springs.

“The proposed order is inconsistent with existing rights,” said attorney for BlueTriton Robert Donlan, as the Los Angeles Times reported. “The board simply has no authority to ignore the law.”

During Tuesday’s hearing, the company’s attorneys argued the state water resources board didn’t have the authority to regulate BlueTriton, since the water the company takes comes from beneath the surface and certain types of groundwater don’t fall under the jurisdiction of the California Water Resources Control Board, reported The Guardian.

State regulators responded by saying the bottled water company’s claim was from 1929 and did not have seniority. They also concluded that the case from 1931 did not grant the company any water rights to the springs, but was a settlement between two parties. California state regulators had the right to order BlueTriton to stop drawing water from the springs, they concluded.

Redlands, California, resident Amanda Frye said Strawberry Creek wasn’t able to support fish with the amount of water left after BlueTriton siphoned it off.

“Essentially they inserted a straw into each spring and diverted it down the mountain to their trucks to take it away,” Frye said, as The Guardian reported.