9mo ago

Minister says Coca-Cola's free groundwater use 'doesn't pass the pub test' after hot, dry summer

www.abc.net.au Minister says Coca-Cola's free groundwater use 'doesn't pass the pub test' after hot, dry summer

Western Australia's Water Minister Simone McGurk says decades-old arrangements allowing millions of litres of groundwater to be extracted free of charge for sale as bottled water should be reviewed as the state faces a drying climate.

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an average of 10 truckloads — each containing 28,000 litres — per week
That's around 1.5 megalitres per year. A much lower number than I was expecting, by a couple of orders of magnitude. Absolutely should be paying for it, though. It's not a world changing amount of water, but it shouldn't be given out freely, especially to such a wasteful use.
- You're right, its the lax attitude the regulators have around this wasteful exercise. Carting truckloads of water around must use up a fair bit of fuel as well.
  This is an article about just one bottled water company, others are doing the same thing in different parts of Perth. So the total of water pumped after this fashion is higher.
  I think it might be Frantelle who pulls from a spot up in Bullsbrook somewhere.
- I'd like to see some proof of those numbers. Maybe I'm cynical, but I don't trust that that's all they're taking. If companies like that can get away with bending the rules and taking more than their share then they will absolutely do it.