SAN ANTONIO - You know living in San Antonio requires restrictions and using water wisely, including water from the city’s main source, The Edwards Aquifer. But what would you think if someone was pumping that prime water to bottle and sell in other parts of the state?
We started looking into the matter after getting questions from someone who emailed us. This person used to live in the San Antonio area years ago and knows how The Edwards Aquifer level works to trigger water restrictions. She now resides in Houston and purchased bottled water that she noticed came from The Edwards Aquifer.
The bottles read “Texas Rolling Hills Spring Water” and at a closer glance, the labeling explains it was bottled by Cal Sietta International. San Antonio and the source are listed as The Edwards Aquifer, Bexar County, Texas.
Our concerned viewer asks, “If the city is under water restrictions, doesn’t it seem strange that someone is pumping from the Edwards and bottling it to sell?”
We spoke to Felix Ho, the CEO of Cal Sierra International, at their San Antonio address on the South Side and he explains that he has permits to pump and do business both from The Edwards Aquifer Authority and The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
The Edwards Aquifer authority told us it’s perfectly legal if a company pumps from the aquifer and bottles it to sell if they have a pumping permit. We found both the E.A.A. and the T.C.E.Q. have permits listed on the company, but under a different name--Houston Fruit Land company.
The company says the wells on their property have been there since the 1940s and they've been operating in San Antonio since 2007.
