San Diego State campus markets have been selling Aztec-brand bottled water that violates California labeling regulations.
A 2007 amendment to the California Health and Safety Code requires all bottled water sold in the state to disclose the water’s source and quality. Bottled water companies are required to provide contact information on the label so customers can get a water quality report from the distributor.
Aztec Mountain Spring Water, a brand sold on campus, is labeled with a phone number, but it leads to a telemarketer. A recording tells callers they have won a free cruise and asks for credit card information.
Nothing is mentioned about water or the company behind the label, Chameleon Beverage Company. The Daily Aztec did not receive a response after sending an email to the listed address.
The label does say the water comes from Palomar Mountain, which is in San Diego county, but no additional information is provided.
This story was first reported as an SDSU journalism class assignment and originally included comments from the owner of Chameleon Beverage Company, Derek Reineman. When The Daily Aztec asked him to confirm his statements, Reineman declined.
Paul Melchior has been SDSU’s dining services director for 15 years and is a member of the school’s sustainability committee. He said he did not know who bottled Aztec Mountain Spring Water and that the water came from Los Angeles.
The website and bottle label both say the water comes from Palomar Mountain.
Melchior said he did not know the label included an erroneous telephone number. Later, in an email, he said he was working to correct it.
California residents and businesses have been looking to reduce water usage since Gov. Jerry Brown announced a state of emergency in January 2014.
Despite concerns that bottled water companies may be contributing to the state water shortage, SDSU continues to sell Aztec Mountain Spring Water.
Aztec Shops sold 169,603 bottles of water on campus last year, and all of the water came from in-state sources.
The International Bottled Water Association’s vice president of communications, Chris Hogan, said bottled water makes up a small fraction of all water consumed in California.
“The footprint of bottled water in California really has no impact on the drought,” Hogan said.
Hogan said 100 percent of bottled water is for human consumption, so that water is not being wasted. He also said that some people rely on bottled water in areas where there is no drinkable tap water.
“Most of the bottled water in California is sold in state,” Hogan said. “It really is a myth that water is being taken from California and shipped around the country.”
Peter Gleick, an American water and climate scientist, also said that bottled water has no real effect on the state’s shortage problem.
“If we were to stop bottling water here, it would not stop the drought,” Gleick said.
The IBWA’s website, attributes a report from the U.S. Geological Survey that says “annual bottled water production accounts for less than 0.02 percent of the total groundwater withdrawn in the United States each year.”
However, this report reflects data collected in 2005 and according to the IBWA, bottled water sales have steadily increased since 2009. The Beverage Marketing Corporation reports that bottled water will be the leading bottled beverage by 2015.
There is no data from IBWA or bottled water companies about how much water is transported to areas outside the region from which it is sourced. Hogan said none of the companies he serves are trying to hide that information, but it has not been tracked.
None of the springs used by IBWA companies have run dry, Hogan said. Most companies have multiple sources to spread out and adjust their production.
But Hogan did say government oversight has not been thorough and that regulations aren’t always enforced with bottled water companies.
