Puslinch councillors are pleased Nestlé Waters Canada has addressed problems at a private well, but they do not want the company touting a resident’s thank-you letter as proof of an efficient response policy.
Councillors Matthew Bulmer and Susan Fielding said within a week of receiving a letter from landowner Chris DesRoches, Nestlé officials had already “mentioned” it several times.
But it should not have taken three months for Nestlé to respond to DesRoches’ concerns in the first place, Bulmer said last week.
The landowner met with Nestlé staff in October to discuss turbidity and water pressure issues with his well on Watson Road, north of Wellington Road 36.
DesRoches said the problems had been ongoing ever since Nestlé began drilling nearby in its search for a possible secondary well near Victoria Road.
But after returning a property access agreement to Nestlé for revision in November, DesRoches said he received no response from the water bottling company.
Finally, on Jan. 8, Nestlé staff visited DesRoches’ property and discovered the root of the problem, which was deemed mechanical and not the fault of any Nestlé drilling.
So DesRoches sent Nestlé a letter later that day thanking the company for addressing his concerns. But he and Puslinch councillors are still concerned about why it took so long to get Nestlé to act.
Several councillors said last week that supply chain director Michel McArthur and president Gail Cosman have admitted that the long delay was a mistake on Nestlé’s part.
“Hopefully they learn from their mistakes,” Mayor Brad Whitcombe said.
Bulmer explained that he heard it cost Nestlé about $10,000 to uncover the root of the problem with DesRoches’ well, so he understands there may be apprehension on Nestlé’s behalf to investigate.
But for a company that plans to extract millions of litres of water daily, “that’s a drop in the bucket” from the residents’ point of view, he said.
Bulmer also took issue with a clause in the property access agreement that states landowners must keep the agreement, as well as Nestlé’s presence and activities on the property, “strictly confidential.
“I don’t like that gag order clause,” Bulmer said. “I’m going to make sure that’s not part of the agreement going forward.”
In fact, he added, residents should not have to sign one of the access agreements at all, unless they choose to do so.
Bulmer, who works closely with Nestlé on the well interference issues, told council he will bring those comments tp the table during his next conversation with Nestlé officials.
