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Perrier clears water rights hurdle The state contradicts environmental activists' claim that the state should own the land where the bottling company pumps water. By JAMES THORNER © St. Petersburg Times, published October 13, 1998 RYSTAL SPRINGS -- Perrier has won the latest battle in the dispute over water rights to Crystal Springs. Local activists wanted the state to seize the springs out from under Perrier, citing laws that require public ownership of navigable waterways. But after more than a year of research, including three boat launches on the Hillsborough River, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection denied the activists' suggestion. A memorandum released by the DEP's Bureau of Survey and Mapping reads: "Based on our historic research and field trips, we cannot conclusively state that the river is navigable and therefore state-owned in the vicinity of the spring." The navigability issue was one of several tactics used by activists to try to upset Perrier's request to siphon 2.6-million gallons of water a day from the springs, which feed into the Hillsborough. The company, in the form of its Zephyrhills Spring Water Co. subsidiary, now draws up to 301,000 gallons a day from the springs. Perrier needs a permit to take more water. The Southwest Florida Water Management District still is considering the permit request. Crystal Springs owner Robert Thomas, who stands to earn millions from the Perrier sales, said he was surprised to hear of the state's refusal to take his land. "That kind of thing is unsettling," he said. "You own private property and pay taxes, then all of a sudden somebody thinks he can get the government to take the property away." Terry Wolfe, the head of Save Our Springs, the leading activist group, said she isn't giving up. She insists the state erred by launching one of its boats during the dry season in July. Canoes manage to navigate the water around the springs all the time, she said. She also plans to send the state a map from 1837 showing a deep, navigable channel on the Hillsborough. "I feel the property belongs to the people and the state should take it back," Wolfe said. As the water use permit request winds its way through the state bureaucracy, Thomas said he's given up trying to predict when he can start selling more water to Perrier. The permitting process has taken two years and counting. "I'm such a poor prognosticator," he said, "I've thrown out my crystal ball." Business | Citrus | Commentary | Entertainment Hernando | Floridian | Obituaries | Pasco | Sports State | Tampa Bay | World & Nation © Copyright 1998 St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.