SPRING TOWNSHIP — After months of talks and tests, Nestle Waters has decided against becoming a customer of the Spring Township Water Authority.
Doug Weikel, chairman of the authority, said he is disappointed by the news. According to Weikel, the impact of Nestle Waters’ decision will affect the customers of the authority.
“Customers will most likely see an increase in the cost of the services in the future,” said Weikel. “The money that would have been provided to the municipality from the deal with Nestle would have allowed us to make needed repairs to our system without raising cost. So, without Nestle off setting some of the costs of the repairs, cost will likely increase.”
Earlier this year, Nestle announced that Centre County was the leading candidate for a new bottling facility and that the company was exploring using Spring Township Water Authority’s Well 2. Constructed in 2016, the well serves as a backup well for the authority. Nestle would have used that to source water for its Deer Park brand while building a new well to serve as the backup.
Under the plan, Nestle would have become a customer of the authority, paying an estimated $525,000 per year, and would have constructed a new $50 million bottling plant in Spring Township or Benner Township.
The Spring Township water system is in need of many repairs, said Weikel, as at least 30 percent of its water is unaccounted for. This means the township has lost water through leaks or meters that are not calibrated. The repairs needed to fix the system are costly, and Weikel said he had hoped to not pass that cost on to customers, who last year saw an increase of 25 cents per 1,000 gallons of water.
Nestle’s April 16 statement said that over the past few months the company has conducted a scientific review to evaluate factors including “the quality and taste of the water, what the science tells us about the hydrogeology and sustainability of the site, the local watershed, the logistics of transporting the product to the market, and much more.”
The company said it evaluates more sources than it can use and that most do not meet its needs.
Nestle anticipated the facility would result in 50 direct jobs with an average salary of $58,000 plus benefits. A study commissioned by the company projected an annual total economic impact — both direct and indirect — of about $50 million in Centre County.
The project was embraced by some for its potential economic and tax benefit, including the Chamber of Business and Industry of Centre County, Spring Township and Benner Township supervisors, the water authority, Bellefonte Area School District and Central Pennsylvania Institute of Science and Technology.
Weikel said he could only speculate on the exact reason why Nestle decided against the project, but he hopes they continue to look at possibilities in the Bellefonte area for a bottling plant moving forward.
“The community could really use it. The jobs, the taxes the economic impact — it would be great thing for the Bellefonte area, so I hope they still are looking at this part of the county,” said Weikel.
Nestle said it will continue to explore northern Centre County as a possible site for a bottling plant.
“Centre County remains a leading candidate in our search for a third Pennsylvania bottling factory location, with an initial investment of $50 million,” the statement said. “We remain optimistic that we can find a source here in northern Centre County so that we can bring jobs and investment to the area in the near future.”
Since Nestle made the initial announcement in January, meetings at the water authority have been filled to capacity with protestors against the plant, who Weikel said were largely from outside of the township. He hopes that people continue to take an interest in water issues moving forward.
“Water really is precious resource that matters to everyone. This got people talking and coming to meetings, but I only hope they continue to keep an interest and not just be reactionary,” said Weikel. He said he felt most of his customers were open to Nestle becoming a customer of the authority but that they were not comfortable coming to meetings when people who were opposed were so heated.
Weikel said the partnership with the municipality would have been mutually beneficial, but Nestle could decide to find a place in the county where it could drill its own well. He said this would be a long process that could take years, and without the benefit of aiding a local water authority.
