With a population of just 1400 people, the small town of McCloud in
Siskyou County, Northern California was a peaceful place. Located in the shadow
of Mt Shasta, residents and visitors can enjoy trout fishing, mountain climbing
and skiing in and around the area. But in the last ten years an altogether more
industrial issue has affected the area, leaving residents furious.
Nestle Water North America (NWNA) is a strand within the multinational
corporation of Nestle – the world’s largest food and beverage producing
company. Unsurprisingly, NWNA specialise in the production of bottled mineral
waters and in 2003 they set their sights on the water rights of the Mccloud
River, along with plans to create a proposed 1 million square foot bottling
plant near to the town. Being experts in the spring water field, the NWNA could
appreciate that the McCloud River is uniquely pure; most of the water comes
from springs and underground lava aquifers which act as superb natural water
filters and would therefore be a lucrative source for their bottled water.
