Protect Wacissa Springs - Our Natural Resource
Critical Aquifer Protection Ordinance to Be Heard by the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners September 15th
Please contact the Board of County Commissioner to express your support for the passage of the Aquifer Protection Ordinance. Please find a link to the agenda for Thursday's meeting here. See page 200 in the agenda for details on the ordinance.
Nestle Leaves Wacissa!
On July 27th, 2011 Nestle Waters announced
that they will not pursue commercial water extraction from
the Wacissa River springs group. Friends of the Wacissa, a
grassroots regional coalition, worked for the past 13 months
mounting a public awareness campaign to bring attention to
the corporate practices of Nestle Waters along with the long
term impact of commercial water bottling. Residents of
Wacissa strongly opposed a satellite spring pumping facility
in their small rural community. No new jobs were anticipated
with the bulk transfer station.
According to Jeff Granger, Wacissa resident, “the community
really came together to protect our river.” Granger
and coalition members organized community meetings, social
networking sites, and letter writing campaigns as part of
the broad scale awareness campaign.
Additionally, Friends of the Wacissa worked with national
organizations Corporate Accountability International and
Food and Water Watch to bring greater awareness to
commercial water bottling practices. Georgia Ackerman
summarized, “The more we learned about the negative impact
of bottled water and the challenges to the health of
Florida’s springs, the stronger our conviction to protect
Wacissa springs grew.” Friends of the Wacissa will continue
advocating for the protection of Florida’s springs and
aquifer.
Currently, FTW is advocating for the passage of a local
Jefferson County Aquifer Protection Ordinance. This public
hearing will take place on Thursday, August 18, 6pm. Please
sign up for email alert to be notified of changes.
Find out more under Local News Coverage.
PUBLIC HEARING - Aquifer Protection Ordinance - Jefferson County Board of County Commissioners - Thursday, August 18
Please plan to attend this critical meeting. We want to pack the hearing room with supporters of this Ordinance. The meeting begins at 6 PM at the Jefferson County Annex Building in downtown Monticello. 435 West Walnut Street.
Understand the Process:
Visit our Process page to find out what has happened to date and
what to expect next as Nestle attempts to gain the right to
harvest water from the Wacissa River. We address
questions regarding government well permitting, rezoning and
comprehensive plan approval
requirements.
From the The Orlando Sentinel
Over 100 community members gathered in the Dorothy Cooper Spence Community Center for an informational meeting regarding the protection of the Wacissa River. The Friends of the Wacissa, a local group, organized the meeting in response to the potential threat of commercial water mining at the Wacissa River by the water-bottling company Nestle Waters North America. Read More Here
Recently, the Wacissa community learned the Nestle Corporation is attempting to pave the way to remove water from the river to bottle and sell. Nestle currently has a water bottling facility in nearby Madison County. Water would be pumped from the Wacissa river near Malloy Landing, an area along the Little River below Allen Spring.
Wacissa River begins in Jefferson County. This pristine river flows for more than 10 miles before it braids its way to the Aucilla River. The Aucilla river flows into the Gulf. Thirteen known springs exist in the upper stretch of the Wacissa river adjacent to Wacissa, Florida.
A coalition of concerned citizens of Jefferson, Wakulla, Leon and the surrounding area is working together to ensure that an international corporation cannot remove water from the Wacissa to sell for profit. The community of Wacissa does not want Nestle setting up shop in their town.
This coalition strongly believes that pumping large volumes of naturally occurring water from the naturally occurring Wacissa spring system will negatively impact the river’s ecosystem. An estimated 450,000 gallons per day would be removed and travel via tanker truck to the Madison facility.
Protect our Wacissa River and Florida's aquifer. Say No to bottled water!
Watch The Story of Bottled Water
