The Simi Sara Show - Wed Feb 18 -BC to Charge For Bottling Ground Water by CKNW published on 2015-02-18T20:04:13Z BC TO CHARGE UP TO $2.25 FOR BOTTLING 1 MILLION LITRES OF GROUNDWATER In 2013, Simi spoke with the WaterWealth project about the fact that the company Nestle was extracting groundwater from Hope, B.C. At that time, Nestle was bottling and selling up to 265 million litres of water from the area around every year for free. To put it into perspective, 265 million litres is the size of an Olympic swimming pool. As a result of the public outcry, the government passed the Water Sustainability Act, which replaced the 1909 Water Act, and worked to charge companies for groundwater extraction. Now, it has been revealed that companies will pay little more than a toonie to bottle as much groundwater that can fill a 25-metre swimming pool when fees take effect in B.C. next year. The highest rate has been set for water-bottling companies is around $2.35 per million litres. Are we setting the price too low? Phone: Ian Stephen Interim executive director of the WaterWealth Project The Simi Sara Show airs Monday to Friday from 10am to 2pm on CKNW 980. simisarashow Genre simisarashow