Pamela Larsen, one of the three chief petitions carried the box of some 1,600 petition signatures to the County Elections office today to qualify the Hood River Water Protection Measure for the ballot in 2016. Local Water Alliance (LWA) Director Aurora del Val (middle) and campaign organizer Molly Kissinger (left) along with a dozen Hood River County citizens participated in today’s historic delivery. The LWA is running this precedent setting ballot initiative campaign.
The precedent-setting citizen ballot measure that would block Nestlé’s proposed water bottling plant in the Columbia River Gorge and prohibit commercial water bottling in Hood River County took a major step forward today as campaign backers turned in over three times the 497 signatures needed to qualify the measure.
Local Water Alliance (LWA), which is spearheading the campaign, collected more than 1,600 signatures in just over a month, making it virtually certain that the county will qualify the Hood River County Water Protection Measure to go to county voters. Campaign backers argue that it does not make sense to send more than 200 million gallons of water each year out of a county that has been in a serious drought.
“It has been fantastic to see all the support for this measure from people across the political spectrum,” says Aurora del Val, Campaign Director for the Local Water Alliance, “We considered gathering even more signatures, but we think voters want to make their opinions known as soon as possible.”
“This project would set a dangerous precedent that Hood River County is a county willing to give away the future of our water security,” adds del Val who lives in Cascade Locks. “That precedent puts at risk our entire economy, which heavily relies on water, and it is not worth the small number of jobs Nestlé could create at a highly automated bottling plant.”
Hood River business owner Michael Barthmus agrees. “It was an easy petition to get people to sign because most people understand that water is a resource and basic human need, and not a commodity to be exploited. Shipping water outside of our county seems like poor stewardship, especially during a time of shortage and droughts. Our families, farms and the fish in our rivers should be our top priority.”
Julia DeGraw, Northwest organizer for Food & Water Watch says the citizen ballot measure is being watched around the country. “What’s happening in Hood River County, Oregon, is being watched closely by communities we work with across the country that are fighting to protect their water supplies from becoming commodities for profit-driven corporations like Nestlé. It’s really impressive to see the public energy behind this precedent-setting campaign.”
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Keep Nestle Out Of The Gorge 