Nestlé No. Nestlé Waters is committed to managing the water resources we operate around the world in a responsible manner. For example, the Sheikhupura factory in Pakistan close to the village of Bhati Dilwan operates two deep wells for its bottling activity. Both wells are equipped with the instrumentation necessary to monitor the key hydrodynamic parameters (including flow rate and water level) on a continuous basis. This extensive monitoring allows us to identify any risks and to take immediate action to mitigate them to avoid negatively impacting the local aquifer system.
DokLab In Sheikupura, Nestlé is extracting water from two deep wells and selling it at a high profit. The population there has no means to draw its own drinking water from wells of this kind.
In the past years, receding groundwater levels have become a fact of alarming magnitude. The extent, to which Nestlé with its two deep wells is contributing to this decline, is known only to the corporation itself. In order to expand its production of bottled water in Sheikupura, Nestlé was subject to an Environmental Impact Assessment in 2007. The report required subsequent amendments. However, Nestlé never published the amended document. Why not?
Nestlé Groundwater in the Lahore region is primarily used for irrigation in the agricultural sector but also for industrial purposes and municipal water supply. At the Sheikhupura factory Nestlé Waters operates just two wells compared to the estimated 680,000 wells operated by other water users in the Indus Basin aquifer.
DokLab The 680,000 wells mentioned by Nestlé are spread across the vast Indus basin, one of the granaries of the Asian continent. With regard to receding groundwater levels, "Bottled Life" however explicitly refers to one region around Sheikupura.