Not long ago, Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador abandoned plans for a large brewery in the northern Mexico metropolis of Mexicali. "How can we have beer breweries in the north?" he said. "What are we exporting? Water."
He said it out loud: "We don't have water in the north."
Alfonso Cortez Lara, a water expert at the College of the Northern Border, said the planned brewery was projected to use more water than all the industrial users in Mexicali combined. "We're talking about 25% of our [water] reserves," he said of the brewery's proposed peak water use. Mexico's human rights commission warned that the brewery risked violating the right to water.
You would think economists and leaders would jump on the opportunity to diversify Mexicali's economy, which has been historically based on agricultural products. But in a March referendum more than two-thirds of voters pushed back against a proposed $1.4 billion brewery. No small venture. In fact, Mexico is a premiere beer producer — the largest in the world — with about $4.6 billion of product exported annually, much to the U.S. in bottles of Corona, Pacifico and Modelo.
In Minnesota, a state that prides itself on water and breweries, this is relevant news. As a co-owner of a family-owned brewery that resides on, depends on and deeply values one of the largest freshwater stores in the world, we believe that stewardship of that water is vital. We've designed our brewery to recapture and reuse thousands of gallons of water annually, and have installed a rooftop full of solar panels to lower our carbon footprint.
In the U.S., we have more breweries in operation than we have had in 150 years. As the industry grows to record levels, brewers across the country are making business decisions based on resource management; water is at the forefront. Water consumption and waste are large economic factors in an industry that operates with tight margins.
What is critical to brewers is the quality of water. Breweries everywhere spend thousands of dollars to test water quality to ensure that their primary ingredient produces a product that beer drinkers adore. If we don't begin to address the issue of water depletion, water quality will no longer be a concern.
Do you think this is not our country's problem? A Sonoma, Calif., brewery killed an expansion plan because of water scarcity. During a recent drought in Chico, Calif., a large brewery had to reduce its production by 30%. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said that the reservoirs along the Colorado River hit critically low volumes in 2020, leading to water shortages throughout the Western U.S., which will critically affect breweries depending on that natural resource.
In 2016, beer scientists, crafters and brewery owners were invited to the Great Lakes Water Conservation Conference in Grand Rapids, Mich., to speak about the future of water use and sustainability within the craft brewing market. Now in 2021, it's time for the brewing industry and its avid fans to take a genuine interest in the water quality and quantity of Minnesota. We cannot have one without the other — No Water, No Beer.
According to Deborah Swackhamer, former director of the University of Minnesota's water resource center, 40% of Minnesota's lakes and rivers do not meet federal water-quality standards. She also reported we will have less than 50% of our current groundwater supply in the metro by 2030, only nine years away. She also states that wells around the state are running dry at a rapidly growing pace.
Our social well-being and economy will suffer greatly without water; in fact, they will collapse. With declining volumes of groundwater, we cannot risk polluting what is left. "Water is Sacred" is a truth, and like many sacred things we do not see their value until they're gone. What will we do without water? It grows our food, our forests, our gardens, it heals our sick, it gives life to animals, and, of course, ourselves. Our beloved morning coffee or tea would not exist without water, and of course, our beer — 90 to 95% of beer is water. No water, no beer.
The next time you sit down to enjoy your favorite Minnesota brew, remember, water is sacred. Think of ways to reduce the amount we use every day, be mindful of what we are putting on our lawns and down our drains, and demand those elected to our state's high offices take great care of what we have left of clean, drinkable and protected water with no exception.
Our western states are now facing what northern Mexico was forced to do: chose between economies and water supply. Minnesota is known as the Land of Sky Blue Waters. For our social, environmental and economic well-being, we must preserve that title.
Sara Boots is the co-owner of a brewery in Duluth.
