4 March 2019
Christchurch Protest Rally Against Water Bottling Company Attracts Six Thousand People

Nearly 6000 people and growing have joined the Save Our Water Facebook event started by local Scott Esdaile just a few weeks ago to protest water bottling plants at Belfast, Christchurch. Environment Canterbury has granted Cloud Ocean Water the right to take billions of litres of drinking water from the city’s aquifers despite public and Council opposition.

The Save Our Water protest route was originally planned to head down Moorhouse Avenue but has now been pushed to the quieter inner city centre after a traffic management plan was disapproved by the Christchurch Transport Operations Centre, a partnership between Environment Canterbury, Christchurch City Council and the NZ Transport Agency. Organiser Scott Esdaile says he is disappointed by the decision and can’t understand why the original route could not have been approved.

“We are protesting and the whole point of a protest is to get people’s attention. In Melbourne they manage to close down much busier routes for protests. By moving the route to the inner city, where there are still not so many people post earthquake, is a kick in the guts to the people of Christchurch who want to take a stand about their water,” he says.

Scott says the huge number of people from all over New Zealand who have responded to the event indicates the growing concern over water rights in New Zealand.

March to Save Our Water will take place this Saturday March 9 at 12.30pm. The meeting point is on the corner of Cashel and Manchester Streets and people will walk down Cashel Street, up Oxford Terrace, into Worcester Boulevard and into Cathedral Square.

Key Points
• Water bottling company Cloud Ocean Water has consent to take 1.57 billion litres of water every year from aquifers in Belfast.

• ECan granted the consents without public notification.

• Cloud Ocean Water has since purchased a second site across the road with a number of bores with permission to take drinking water. If consent is gained to use them, this would give access to an additional 7.5 billion litres of Christchurch's water or nearly 9 billion litres total or 25 million litres of water every day.

March To Save Our Water Facebook Events Page:
https://www.facebook.com/events/326356417984788/

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