Many communities have had no option but to go to court to try and protect their groundwater from corporate water bottlers. These legal battles can be extremely expensive and time consuming, and water-bottling schemes have torn towns apart. Although some communities have banned commercial water extraction, not all towns have had such success.

States should not allow the interests of multinational bottled water companies to take precedence over the interests of the public, and all water should be under the dominion of the public and not under the control of private companies. States can better protect their groundwater resources and act in the public’s best interest by placing groundwater in the public trust.