PepsiCo Beverages North America (PBNA) last week announced a $1.5 million grant to the Water Replenishment District of Southern California (WRD), the largest groundwater agency in the state of California, to help manage and protect local groundwater resources to more than four million residents.
The partnership will improve drought resiliency and pilot WRD's first inland injection well for utilization of in-ground storage. When complete, the project will store an average of 325,851 gallons of water per year for municipal and indirect use, drought resiliency and mitigation.
"The Water Replenishment District is proud to be the first public agency to receive a water sustainability grant from PepsiCo," said Water Replenishment District Board President John D.S. Allen. "This grant will help build our region's drought resilience for years to come. The WRD Board of Directors commend and applaud PepsiCo for their commitment to protecting our watershed."
"Partnering with the Water Replenishment District of Southern California will not only help enable long-term, sustainable water security for local communities who depend on an accessible and reliable supply of clean, safe water," said Johannes Evenblij, President of West Division at PepsiCo Beverages North America, "but it will also be critical in the advancement our pep+ (PepsiCo Positive) Net Water Positive ambition to reduce absolute water use and replenish back into the local watershed more than 100 percent of the water we use."
Other PepsiCo partnerships for sustainable water include:
- California Water Action Collaborative: PBNA is part of CWAC, a coalition of industry, nonprofit, and governmental organizations investing in efforts throughout California that yield positive return for water quality and quantity.
- The Nature Conservancy: PBNA collaborates with TNC as part of the Salt and Verde Alliance, a partnership that brings together companies, farmers, communities, and other organizations to help protect the Salt and Verde watersheds of the arid western United States.
