Conflict Erupts over Trendy 'Voss' Water

The bottlers of trendy "Voss" water from Norway want to limit local access to its source in a southern valley in Agder. For the time being, residents continue to use "Voss" water for everything from watering plants to flushing the toilet.

One thing should be made clear: "Voss" water doesn't come from the mountains around Voss in western Norway. Instead, it springs from a sparsely populated area called Iveland in a fairly remote valley northeast of Kristiansand, on Norway's southern coast.

Newspaper Dagens N‘ringsliv (DN) reported this week that its bottler and marketer, Voss of Norway AS, wants to secure its production (and preserve its exclusivity) by keeping all the water for itself. It wants the local township to drill a new well to supply local residents, the local kindergarten and school.

The water business has become big business in Norway. DN reported that Voss alone, founded in 1998, sold water for NOK 90 million last year, with 75 percent of its production exported, mostly to the US. Voss' few domestic customers include exclusive restaurants like Eng? G†rd at Tj?me, while stars like Madonna and Britney Spears are willing to pay dearly for Voss water in New York.

Ole Christian Sandberg of "Voss of Norway" confirmed the company wants to preserve Voss' supply and said his company is "in a dialogue" with township officials that he hopes will end the practice of local residents literally bathing in the precious water.

"I can understand Voss' needs, but we also have a need to secure good water for our residents," Mayor Ole Magne Omdal told DN. "We're proud of Voss, and I'm sure we'll find a way to sort this out."

Source:
Aftenposten English Web Desk - Nina Berglund