Arrowhead bottled water company wins one of three pending court cases

[quaint]

LATimes

The company that sells Arrowhead brand bottled water has won a court ruling overturning a decision by California water regulators, who in 2023 ordered it to stop piping millions of gallons of water from the San Bernardino National Forest.

The board had ordered the company BlueTriton Brands to stop taking much of the water it has been piping from water tunnels and boreholes in the mountains near San Bernardino. The board issued the “cease and desist” order after the agency’s staff conducted an investigation and determined the company was unlawfully diverting water from springs without valid water rights.

The judge found, however, that the state water board “misunderstood and inappropriately applied” state law. He said the legal question was “not about water rights,” and he cited a provision stating the board does not have theauthority to regulate groundwater.

This has to be overturned.