WATER ABLAZE - Patagonia Sin Represas

4.8 Indonesia – Water Suppliers Danone and RWE
The topic of bottled water has many other aspects, however, as the
example of Indonesia demonstrates. In Klaten, a small town near
Solo in Central Java, the French multi-utility company Danone (Aqua
Danone PT Tirta Investama) produces its bottled water. Danone only
had to buy a small plot of land in order to access the underground
water resources. In 2001, the company built a factory with high walls
and fences, guarded by soldiers. Since early 2002, water has been filled
into large bottles, each holding around 19 litres, which are then driven
away to be sold.
In 2004, while taking part in a globalisation conference in Solo,
I visited Klaten to see the Danone plant for myself. Together with
Indonesian environmentalist Nila Andheri and other friends, I had
discovered a place from where it was possible to look over the factory
wall. In the yard, bottles of water were being loaded onto three-axled
trucks. Every 10 minutes, one of these trucks left the grounds. The
entrance to the plant was guarded like a military installation. After
several minutes, we were approached by a group of security guards
who had noticed our presence. My companions informed me that it
was time to clear off. In Indonesia, situations can sometimes become
very unpleasant.
According to water activists from Solo, Danone extracts 64 litres
of water per second at the plant, which would amount to around 2
billion litres a year. The company has a licence which is renewed every
three years. Farmers in the surrounding area have increasingly been
protesting because they can no longer irrigate their wet rice fields due
to the drastic fall in ground water levels.
It seems absolutely ludicrous that, in an area where the population
is suffering from extreme deprivation, people should have to use what
little money they have to buy back their own water from Danone at an
extortionate price. The local daily newspaper of May 12, 2005 reported
on a heavy fine that Danone had eventually been ordered to pay for
ignoring environmental guidelines. Considering the billions of dollars
the affiliated group makes by selling the water, even a substantial fine
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