PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Voters in an Oregon county imposed a ban on commercial water bottling on Tuesday, killing a plan in which Nestle would have built a water-bottling plant in the job-scarce town of Cascade Locks in the scenic Columbia River Gorge.
Those who supported Measure 14-55, which sought the ban on the production and transport of bottled water, had expressed concern about water scarcity and losing the character of the community.
Town officials had wanted the project for the hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue and jobs it could have brought to a town with 19 percent unemployment.
Dave Palais of Nestle Waters North America, who had a small office in the town with placards trumpeting the benefits the project could have brought, said the company is disappointed with the result.
The proposal had split Cascade Locks, named for navigational locks on the Columbia River that became mostly submerged when a dam was built downriver eight decades ago, dealing the town an economic blow. Blue signs opposing the project and red ones in favor were erected in the town of 1,200 that still clings to existence within sight of the Bridge of the Gods, connecting Oregon with Washington state.