Pepsico & Frito-Lay Announce Water Replenishment Projects

Image of a river with forestry on one side and boulders on the other. — Photo by craig kerwien on Unsplash

PepsiCo Beverages North America (PBNA) and Frito-Lay North America (FLNA) announced a commitment of $3.3 million in funds toward water replenishment projects across North America. These projects aim to advance PepsiCo's effort to become net water positive by 2030. This includes reducing absolute water use and replenishing back into the local watershed water used at company-owned and third-party sites in high water-risk areas.

In recognition of its efforts, PepsiCo received the 2023 Industrial Water Reuse Champions Award by WateRuse Association, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Veolia and the University of Pennsylvania Water Center.

PepsiCo's investments in becoming Net Water Positive by 2030 include:

PBNA's $2.1 million catalytic investment in the city of Winter Haven, Fla., to support wetlands restoration that enables the local aquifer to recharge an average of 400,000 gallons a day by 2025.
Funding a $1.2 million project to provide freshwater to ecosystems and wildlife in Galveston Bay. This project aims to provide an additional 2,000 acre-feet per year of water, starting this spring, for 10 consecutive years.

The $2.1 million in funding will be used for construction of an aquifer storage and recovery well system to support groundwater and wetland restorations. These wetlands store excess stormwater during rain events, while storing highly treated reuse water during drought conditions. The time spent "stored" in the wetlands allows the water to recharge into the underlying Floridan Aquifer. Project construction is expected to begin in June with completion expected by June 2025.

In Galveston, Texas, PepsiCo's $1.2 million investment is part of the company's North American Water Replenishment program to scale investment and impact of water replenishment projects where facilities are co-located in water scarce areas. In partnership with Texas Water Trade, the purchased water will support migratory bird habitats near Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge. This project expects to provide an additional 2,000 acre-feet of water per year for 10 years.