|
Perrier faces questions
By JAMES THORNER © St. Petersburg Times, published August 19, 1998 The designer water firm, owner of Zephyrhills Spring Water Co., is asking permission to draw up to 2.6-million gallons of water a day from the spring, up from the current limit of 301,000 gallons a day. For more than a year, the company has tried to persuade the Southwest Florida Water Management District, commonly know as Swiftmud, that bottling more of the spring won't hurt the environment. But Swiftmud remains unpersuaded. On Monday, the agency once again asked Perrier and its business partner, Crystal Springs owner Robert Thomas, for more information about their plans. Perrier now pulls an average of 213,000 gallons a day from the spring, far below the 301,000 gallons the company's permit allows it to take. That raises the question of why the company wants to siphon 2.6-million gallons a day, Swiftmud spokesman Mike Molligan said. "Why do you want this water?" Molligan said. "You have to show there's a need." Another question is how increased tapping of the spring will affect the Hillsborough River. The river, one of Tampa's main sources of drinking water, is fed by the spring as it passes through southern Pasco County. To keep the river sufficiently replenished during dry spells, Perrier and Thomas have suggested increasing the flow of spring water out of the earth. "Exactly how do you manipulate the water flow and exactly how will that affect the aquifer?" Molligan said. Thomas vowed Monday to answer all of Swiftmud's questions, preferably within 30 days. He stands to make millions of dollars from increased water sales to Perrier, piping the water three miles north to the company's bottling plant in Zephyrhills. "I thought it was all reasonable," Thomas said of Swiftmud's request for more information. But many residents of Crystal Springs, the community named for the pool of water, think Perrier's plans are far from reasonable. "Those guys are water-mining, bore-holing monsters," said Terry Wolfe, the head of a protest group called Save Our Springs. Wolfe and her friends haven't been much kinder to Thomas, whom they call a greedy businessman bent on profiting from a natural resource they insist belongs to the community. Thomas has sold water to Perrier since 1989. Two years ago, he set off a furor when he closed the gates to the spring, which for decades had been a favorite swimming hole and picnic area. Outraged by the closing of the spring, people who earlier had largely ignored Thomas' water sales to Perrier became his adversaries. Wolfe said no matter how hard Thomas and Perrier try to please Swiftmud regulators, she has not changing her mind about the plans to divert more spring water. "This was a scam from the get-go," she said. "They are not going to get this permit. My attitude hasn't changed." If Swiftmud accepts Thomas' answers to its latest inquiries, Thomas could theoretically begin selling more water by the start of the new year. As for his critics, Thomas said he feels compassion for them. "I like to see people happy," he said. "I don't like to upset people, especially when there's no basis for them being upset."
Business |
Citrus |
Commentary |
Entertainment
|
Home
RYSTAL SPRINGS -- Perrier's request to siphon millions more gallons of water from Crystal Springs has hit another clog.
