Nestlé Waters – Creating Shared Value report

3 Managing our water resources
interView
hydrogeologist
Questionnaire
Assaad Saadeh is one of the dozen
hydrogeologists within Nestlé Waters
who are in charge of our most precious
asset – water resources. With a sound
academic background, Assaad has
worked for Nestlé Waters for five
years. He is currently responsible for
water resources management for Asia,
Oceania and Africa (AOA).
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Q: what is a hydrogeologist?
a: A: hydrogeologist is a scientist who is
trained to understand water presence and
movement beneath the ground. One of my
advanced degrees is in engineering geology
and hydrogeology. I am a member of the
International Association of Hydrogeologists
and am a certified expert in hydrogeology for
the court system.
Q: what does your daily
job entail?
a: My job mainly consists of ensuring
sustainable water resources for our
operational business units in the AOA
zone. My daily routine entails keeping in
close contact with the various markets
in AOA to assess their needs in terms of
water resources. Following this continuous
assessment, I assist the markets as needed
to find and verify the capacity of additional
resources to sustain their growth.
My job consists of evaluating (at an early
stage) the feasibility of new projects that are
greenfield sites or potential acquisitions from
the water resources point of view. I also ensure
that the markets are properly monitoring their
water resources every day and that they are
being used in a responsible way. Finally, I am in
constant contact and coordination with Nestlé
Waters’ head office regarding any new updates
of standards to ensure that the markets are
utilising their water resources in full conformity
with Nestlé Waters’ standards.
Nestlé Waters – creating shared Value report 2005-2010
Q: what sort of tools do you
use for your job?
a: Since the various markets in the AOA
zone are widely spread, I often rely on
satellite images. Geological maps are
continuously used to check the geological/
hydrogeological situation of the sites.
Sometimes I use geographic information
system (GIS) software to analyse spatial
data, as well as other specialised software
for groundwater modelling or for pumping
test analysis.
Q: how does your job
help fulfil nestlé waters’
core principles?
a: My job helps to ensure that our natural
water resources are used in the most
sustainable and efficient manner by closely
monitoring our resources, and by developing
new tools for water resources monitoring.
Water resource management in the AOA
zone can be quite a challenging task as it
is an area of significant growth, while at the
same time suffering in many places from
water stress and water scarcity.
3.2 Water resource protection
technical protection
Maintaining the highest standards means implementing protection measures against accidental
or voluntary actions. At Nestlé Waters we have a complete set of technical specifications covering
how drillings, pumping or storage operations shall be manoeuvred to comply with strict hygiene
conditions. The technical specifications include disinfection processes for all the equipment that
are directly in contact with water to avoid any contamination. Technical requirements also set
standards for materials, such as the mandatory use of stainless steel or high density polyethylene
for pipes, and 304L or 316L stainless steel for wellheads or equipment within the well. Technical
protection also deals with the overall design of the catchment system to minimise impacts
to retention zones and identify the time needed during maintenance in order to lower risk of
microbiological contamination. Our stringent specifications have been recognised by French
regulation authorities who have asked Nestlé Waters to prepare updated technical guidelines
for mineral water operational systems.