DisasterBottler wants to pump more water in Florida to send to Sandy’s victims, but the locals are angry

Niagara Bottling LLC Is attempting to boost the amount of water it pumps from the Floridan Aquifer in Central Florida to help victims of Hurricane Sandy.

The company wants to help victims in what it considers to be the nation’s “worst natural disaster,” but it is unclear whether the help is needed. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has stated that there has not been a shortage of water in areas affected by Hurricane Sandy. It is also unknown whether the bottling company wants to give away the water to victims, or sell it.

The Orlando Sentinel reports that despite the concerns, the St. Johns River Water Management District issued an emergency order for Niagara’s south Lake County plant to pump an additional 1.5 million gallons from the Floridian Aquifer for five days in order “to protect the health, safety and welfare of persons stricken by Hurricane Sandy.”

Today (Tuesday), the district’s board of directors will decide whether to endorse the order at a meeting in Palatka. Niagara spokesman Honey Rand knows that during times a crisis, people need to come together.

“The moral of the story is we help each other out when we are in trouble,” Rand told the Orlando Sentinel.

The St. Johns district has upset its customers in the past when it comes to Niagara Bottling. In 2009 the Niagara Bottling was issued a permit to pump an average of 484,000 gallons per day from the Floridan Aquifer. According to the district, the added water would not be a problem, but the decision upset many central Florida residents who are constantly being told to reduce their water usage, while a New York based company is allowed to pump and sell millions of gallons of water every week.

The district has imposed a series of water use restrictions on residents for the fourth year in a row, permanently banning lawn and landscape water use on all but one day during the week.

The city of Groveland tried to block the agreement between the water district and the bottler, but Niagara won the permit, the sued Groveland to recoup the legal costs of Groveland’s legal action. The two sides eventually settled out of court when Groveland agreed to provide the company with free sewage treatment.

In its request for “emergency relief” from Hurricane Sandy, Niagara requested that the extra pumping not be counted against the company’s yearly limit of 177 million gallons, but the company did not state whether the extra water would compensate for revenue lost when a Niagara plant in Pennsylvania was left without power or whether the water would be donated to storm victims or be sold to them.

Hans Tanzler, St. Johns district’s executive director, said that the district would not count the extra water against Niagara’s yearly water cap, and when asked whether the company would donate or sell the water, Tanzler redirected the question.

“Those are questions that the officials at Niagara should be able to answer,” Tanzler told the Sentinel.

Rand, the Niagara spokeswoman, told the Sentinel the company “typically” donates water to first responders in disasters.