A Nestlé bottling unit is opening a new plant in drought-stricken Phoenix because that’s where the water is. Really.

Drought? Desert? Water? The pure dissonance provoked understandable controversy among the sand-lubbers who make up one of the top three U.S. markets in per capita water-bottle-swigging.

“It’s hard for people to hold in their minds,” said Sarah Porter, director of the Kyl Water Center at Arizona State University. “Those two things don’t seem compatible.” And yet the question remains—how can they bottle water in the desert?

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