Nestle faces mineral water problems in drought-hit France

STRASBOURG

Global food and beverage giant Nestle has said that it would stop extracting from two mineral water wells in eastern France due to drought and increasingly unpredictable weather conditions.

The group’s mineral water subsidiary, Nestle Waters, which owns brands such as Vittel and Perrier, said it had suspended operations at two wells used to produce its Hepar water in the Vosges region.    

Another four wells will continue to be used for the brand.    

“Like the whole of the industry, Nestle Waters faces worsening climatic conditions, with more intense and frequent events, such as regular droughts followed by heavy rain, which affect operating conditions at some wells on its site in the Vosges,” the group told AFP.

France as a whole saw 32 days without significant rainfall in January and February, a winter drought that followed record heat last summer that saw emergency water measures put in place for most of the country.

An estimated 75 percent of French groundwater sources were at moderately low or very low levels in April.    

Water restrictions are currently in place for 20 out of 96 departments on the mainland, with three judged to be in crisis in the southeast of the country.

Other French mineral waters are also affected by the increasing scarcity of water, including the famed Volvic brand which is extracted from the formerly volcanic hills of central France.

The owner of Volvic, French multinational Danone, is set to decrease its monthly water extraction by five percent in May and June, the company told AFP.