I’m teaming up with the Florida Springs Council to get the word out about a time-sensitive situation that is quietly going on in Florida right now. If you have ever participated in any water activity in Florida, ever enjoyed pictures of the springs or animals here, enjoyed diving here, or ever want to do any of those things, we need your help.
I’ll start with a quick abstract of the situation and my call to action first, for those of you with short attention spans 🙂
Abstract: The Seven Springs Water Company is trying to renew their permit that will allow them to pump over a million gallons of water PER DAY from the Florida Aquifer via Ginnie Springs… for free… to sell to Nestlé. This is bad for lots of reasons. (See “Why do I care about this?” and some of the links provided below.)
Call to Action: Please read carefully. We need to let the Suwannee River Water Management District Board know that we want them to deny the Seven Springs Water Permit applied for by Nestlé.
Two Options (Bonus points if you do both):
Option 1: If you are in a location close enough to send mail that will arrive in Live Oak, Florida ON OR BEFORE February 23rd, please send a physical postcard with this request. We have found this option to be the most effective. (Example below written by the Florida Springs Council.)
Option 2: If you are not in close proximity to Florida, please send an email to the board members with the same information, and copy me…. I will print out the emails and deliver hard copies myself (so we can be sure they don’t get lost in a spam folder).
Example message, copy/paste friendly (please personalize if you have the time to do so):
Dear SRWMD Board Members,
I am a resident of ___________. Please deny the Seven Springs Water Permit, which will devastate both the environment and the communities of North Florida if approved. Please heed the words of scientists, environmentalists, and your constituents. Do your part to protect Florida’s waterways and the people that rely on them.
Sincerely,
_____________
Email addresses of the board: Virginia.Johns@SRWMD.org, Charles.Keith@SRWMD.org, Richard.Schwab@SRWMD.org, Virginia.Sanchez@SRWMD.org, Harry.Smith@SRWMD.org, Larry.Sessions@SRWMD.org, Larry.Thompson@SRWMD.org
Don’t forget to copy me: anarchyscuba@gmail.com
Why do I care about this?
The aquifer is already dangerously low. Many of you saw the video of the “trash vortex” circling above the spring at Little River Springs County Park in Branford, FL in the last couple of weeks. The springs are not only beautiful and serve as a source of tourism and recreation for millions of people a year, but the aquifer which supports them also supplies drinking water to TENS of millions of people.
The Seven Springs Water Company is requesting to take 0.98 millions of gallons of water per day (which is an increase from the current 0.266 millions of gallons per day they are already taking).
So they want to take the water we dive in (that’s right guys, all of the springs in (arguably) the cave diving capital of the world), for free, and then sell it to Nestlé who is going to bottle up our water in plastic (#fuckplastic) water bottles and then sell them for a huge profit. These people are literally destroying the planet. This is the problem. Right here.
And we can do something about it. There is strength in numbers. We can actually make a difference here. But we have to do it now.
Do the right thing. Make a splash.
Thank you.
Florida Springs Council Shop:
https://www.floridaspringscouncil.org/saynotonestle
Information about the Florida Aquifer:
https://www.sjrwmd.com/water-supply/aquifer/
Information about the (Nestlé) Seven Springs Water Permit:
https://www.floridaspringscouncil.org/nestle-permit-infographic
Information about the “Say ‘No’ to Nestlé” campaign in Canada:
http://www.wellingtonwaterwatchers.ca/saynotonestle
http://www.csjcanada.org/blog/2019/7/8/inside-the-say-no-to-nestle-campaign.html
https://etfo.ca/BuildingAJustSociety/ETFOTakesAction/pages/say%20no%20to%20nestle.aspx
I agree with you that it is not a good idea to give them any of the water. But I am not sure my voice can be heard as I live in NC and not FL. Often times only those who live in the area affected can actually be included. Is this the case with these?
Please send your postcard to the water district and write “no permit.” People from all over the world know Nestle for their disregard for the planet. They make false claims on their webpages and for several years in a row they are listed among the worst 3 or 4 polluters in the world. Their plastic bottles go everywhere and a tiny fraction is recycled because it is cheaper to make new ones.
The Ginnie Springs bottling plant produces water that far exceeds the EPA recommended nitrate content, and your tap probably has better and more pure water. And it is free.
Over 19,000 people have written to the water district opposing the permit. This is a huge input of public interest.
move north to the mountains leave the precious springs alone .
I totally agree that this is a bad idea on so many levels. Please don’t do this. It’s always about money. 😡
Please save The springs, they are not only beautiful and serve as a source of tourism and recreation for millions of people a year, but the aquifer which supports them also supplies drinking water to TENS of millions of people. We can stop this and make a voice in numbers! Have all your friends send comments to STOP this thank you
To all,
My family came to Florida in 1910 and I grew up swimming in our beautiful Florida springs. This water from our natural aquifers is our most precious natural resource that belongs to nature and the residents of the State of Florida and MUST be protected! We demand protection of our aquifers from pillage of corporations. We the people have a right to our resources and the State of Florida is tasked with the protection and preservation of the state’s resources. I am requesting that all state officials stop Nestle from taking any amount of OUR natural resources for their private profit. Water is the most vital resource for Floridians not only to sustain human life but to support our agriculture. Our natural waterways are fed by our aquifers. Our endangered species, the Florida Manatee, rely on spring fed areas for refuge when the water temperature drops below 72 degrees. Much of Florida is sustained by tourism because of our most precious natural resources. If any public official, representative, or judicial official allows Nestle to remove our natural water from our connected aquifers they will be putting the future of our state in danger of bankrupting the citizens of the State of Florida. I, Cindy Carter, demand that our aquifers be protected for future generations to come. Do not allow Nestle a permit to remove water from our natural aquifers.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Cindy Carter
3511 Heritage Lane
Fort Myers, FL 33908
Water is life! It shouldnt be for sale!
The taking depletes systems down the line. The bottles cause pollution.
No sale of our water!
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