| 6/15/2007 8:23:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article | Bottling company eyes spring water near Nathrop
by Merle Baranczyk
Editor/Publisher
A national water bottling company with international ties is considering purchase of cold water springs on the east side of the Arkansas River near Nathrop.
Nestle Waters North America, a division of Nestle Foods, a Swiss company, has an option on Hagen Springs.
Water from the springs would be trucked to a plant in northeast Denver for bottling under the name Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water.
In a recent interview at The Mountain Mail, Bruce Lauerman, company Rocky Mountain Division manager of Helena, Mont., said a preliminary study and review is underway and is expected to be complete in the next three to four months.
When the study is finished, depending upon results, Nestle Waters personnel will decide whether to exercise its option to purchase 16 acres including the springs.
The company has already bought a 112-acre portion of the McMurry Ranch for $860,000. It is adjacent to the Hagen land.
Lauerman said the McMurry property was for sale and the company decided to buy it. The land he said will serve as a buffer and protection for the springs from future development and any possible harm or damage that might be done to the springs.
If the project evolves as planned, Lauerman said Nestle will own 128 acres and 3,000 feet of river frontage that won't be developed.
"We're not a developer," he said, noting the company owns thousands of acres throughout the country. The land is to preserve and protect springs producing water for bottling under various Nestle brands.
If Nestle Waters does not complete the sale, Lauerman said the 112 acres bought from the McMurry Ranch acreage would be returned to the market.
If that occurs, he said the company would first offer the land to a natural resource-related entity as a park or possibly some other recreational activity.
The springs now provide water for a fish hatchery. The business operates under Hagen Western Fisheries Consultants, with Hal and Harold Hagen principals in the company.
Nestle Waters officials are considering purchase of several springs in Colorado. All would supply the bottling plant in Denver.
"The project is of general public interest," Lauerman said.
A potential benefit he said is the possibility the acquisition might serve as a catalyst to improve relationships between Paul Moltz and Chaffee County Commissioners and between Moltz and the Hagen family.
Moltz and commissioners have been sparring about rerouting CR 302 to allow expansion of the Moltz reservoir east of Johnson Village.
The Hagens and Moltz have been at odds about reservoir impact on the springs. Lauerman said when the reservoir was complete and the process of filling began, it reduced the amount of water produced by the springs.
Now that the reservoir is filled, Lauerman said the springs appear to have recovered.
"Maybe there's an opportunity for Nestle to bring people together to improve the situation," Lauerman said.
If studies show the springs can deliver a reliable flow of water and if scientific analysis determines the water is of sufficient quality, relatively shallow bore holes (wells) will be drilled about 50 feet deep to tap the source.
"Reviews would determine the safe yield or amount of water that can be harvested," he said, "without negatively impacting the springs' operation."
In its decision-making, Nestle officials will consider the sustainability of the springs their ability to produce water in wet or normal years as well as during drought periods.
"We can't make an investment then a few years later have an issue with the springs," Lauerman said. "Our raw material needs to be protected forever.
"We need to do the science, then evaluate what we find, then work with stakeholders. There are a lot of stakeholders," he noted.
Stakeholders include the Upper Arkansas Water Conservancy District, downstream water rights holders, Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area, raft companies, anglers and Chaffee County.
The springs don't have a senior water right and don't have a consumptive right. Lauerman said because water would be removed from the basin, Nestle would have to augment the existing right. Resolving legal issues could take two to three years.
Spring water is regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. To be bottled and sold as spring water, Lauerman said, it cannot be treated as municipal water is treated.
"It has to be natural. This is why it's so important to protect the source," he said.
Spring water receives minimal treatment. It is passed through a micro filter to remove bacteria and is run through an ultra violet light process.
Nestle is the largest bottler of spring water in the world. In addition to Arrowhead, in North America it bottles water under the brand names Poland Springs, Deer Park, Ice Mountain, Ozarka, Panna, Calistoga, Zephyrhills and Contrex. Nestle imports Perrier and S. Pellegrino.
Lauerman said water from each spring has its own unique characteristics and a certain taste.
Lauerman said Nestle has a good neighbor policy and supports communities wherever it has a site, including sponsoring activities, park programs and other events.
"We look for ways to contribute," he said.
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