Judge rules that popular water brand can keep using SoCal pipelines

CALIFORNIA – A California judge decided, January 13, that BlueTriton Brands can keep using water pipelines in the San Bernardino National Forest, at least for now.

BlueTriton is known for popular water brands, including Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water and Ozarka Natural Spring Water.

U.S District Judge Jesus G. Bernal granted BlueTriton Brands’ motion for preliminary injunction – a temporary court order issued early in a legal case.

The preliminary injunction lets BlueTriton continue using the pipelines while the legal fight with the U.S. Forest Service over their permit renewal continues.

Diverting water since 1880s

According to court document, since the 1880s, BlueTriton, and its predecessor Nestle, allege that it has diverted water for bottling in Strawberry Canyon prior to the federal government creating the San Bernardino National Forest by reservation in 1893.

BlueTriton uses twelve tunnels and boreholes to collect water from the springs.

This water is then sent through a 4-inch, 23,000-foot-long steel pipeline built in the 1930s, which carries the water to a collection point. From there, the water is used for bottling and at the Arrowhead Springs Hotel owned by San Manuel Nation.

Under an agreement made by its predecessor, BlueTriton makes sure that at least 20% of the water flow goes to the hotel property, which is outside the San Bernardino National Forest.

After 1914 a permit is required

The California State Water Resources Control Board (Water Board) said they received several water rights complaints and an online petition against Nestlé starting in April 2015.

“The complaints alleged that BlueTriton was “diverting water without a valid basis of right, was unreasonably using water, was injuring public trust resources, and was not reporting or was incorrectly reporting its diversions,” said the court document.

The Water Board began an investigation of BlueTriton’s water rights at Arrowhead Springs.

In July 2023, a Water Board official suggested that BlueTriton started taking water after 1914, which means they need a permit.

In 1914, the state passed the Water Commission Act, which established the requirement that anyone who wanted to divert water from a water source for use (such as for bottling or other purposes) after 1914 had to obtain a permit from the state.

The official said BlueTriton was taking water without the proper permit.

Forest Service denies permit

The Water Board issued an order that limited BlueTriton’s rights to divert water from Arrowhead Springs to just three spring sources. They also permitted continued deliveries to the Nation.

After the Water Board’s decision, the Forest Service started looking at BlueTriton’s permit application.

Over the next few months, the Forest Service asked for details on how and where the water was being used. They were concerned because the permit seemed to be for bottling water, but recently, the water was only being delivered to the San Manuel Nation for use at the Arrowhead Hotel.

BlueTriton didn’t update its application to reflect these changes and only gave general information about how the Nation was using the water at the hotel.

The Forest Service denied its request in July 2024.

Stopping the water flow could harm fire suppression efforts

For BlueTriton to get a preliminary injunction, it needed to show it would face harm without one. The court agreed that BlueTriton would suffer harm from losing access to its water and losing future profits.

In addition, the court considered whether issuing an injunction would hurt the public interest.

While the Forest Service pointed to potential environmental harm, BlueTriton argued that stopping the water flow could harm fire suppression efforts and the local economy. The court ultimately decided that issuing the injunction to maintain the current situation was reasonable until the case is resolved.