Water,
water everywhere…
but it’ll cost you
Pan Am visitors will be sipping Perrier rather than gulping free tap water
By
Debra Fieguth
ChristianWeek staff
They’re not calling it a water fight, but The Salvation Army and the Perrier Group of Canada are in a face-off over the right to distribute drinking water at the Pan American Games in Winnipeg this summer.
So far the corporation is winning. If Perrier has its way, visitors to the Pan Am Games will be sipping bottled water imported from France rather than chugging back free water from a local tap.
The Salvation Army had wanted to offer "a cup of cold water" to thirsty visitors. When the Olympic Games took place in Atlanta in 1996, the same offer was a big hit. The city was hot and crowded, and dehydration was a potential problem. The Army even worked with Coca-Cola, which provided free paper cups for the water, which came from the taps of local churches.
But Perrier protested. A corporate sponsor of the Pan Am Games, Perrier is already donating some 700,000 bottles of water for athletes’ use. "We’re spending substantial amounts of money to support the games," said Frank de Vries, president of the Perrier Group, in a telephone interview from the company’s Concord, Ontario base. "In lieu of that we should at least have some opportunity to sell to consumers."
De Vries wrote to Daniel Buckley, the Pan American Games Society’s (PAGS) sponsor servicing coordinator, last December to complain about The Salvation Army’s offer.
Ambush tactic
"It is our belief that providing people who wait in line with free water from the Salvation Army is somewhat of an ‘ambush’ tactic against our selling efforts," he wrote.
PAGS feels obligated to satisfy its sponsor, says Buckley. Offering free water is "in direct conflict" with Perrier’s right to sell its product.
Known more for its acts of service than its battle maneuvers, The Salvation Army doesn’t want to fight the decision.
"They [Perrier] have their people in place. They’re looking after the distribution of water," says Stan Folkins, chair of the Army’s local Pan Am committee. "It’s not a negative response from our perspective. We’re not taking that position."
Perrier is willing to provide free water for emergency use, says de Vries. "We understand your concern regarding dehydration and thus are more than happy to provide free water to all your first aid sites in cases of emergencies where one’s health is at risk," he writes to Buckley.
De Vries is concerned that free water, no matter where it is offered from, "weakens the benefit" Perrier might have. He estimates the company’s sponsorship value at about $300,000, and says "there’s going to be no profit" during the games.
But the story isn’t over yet. PAGS media secretary Brian Koshul says PAGS has asked its medical providers for a recommendation.
"If it comes down in favor of additional water, we’ll revisit the situation with Perrier," Koshul says.
"Perrier doesn’t make those decisions," he points out, but adds, "we’ve taken their concerns into consideration."