Molson Coors cans water for communities in crisis Local brewery is sole producer for program; 2M cans since 2017.

Trenton’s Molson Coors brewery produced nearly 400,000 cans of water Monday that will be donated to communities nationwide in the event of natural disasters or any other emergencies that call for additional access to clean drinking water.

Usually, Packaging Line Lead Shane Smith oversees a factory line that makes about 1,700 cans of beer per minute; on Monday, his line was commissioned for the water canning process, which sees about 1,100 cans produced per minute. Though the production is slower, Smith said water’s easier.

“There’s so much with beer that can go wrong from the time you start the brewing process to the end,” Smith said.

The Trenton Brewery, one of 22 breweries under Molson Coors’s umbrella, has been the sole producer for the canned water program since the initiative began in 2017 — producing over two million cans of water since.

“It’s really just in the spirit of that brewery,” said Michael Nordman, corporate’s senior manager of community affairs. “They’ve been doing this for the last six years now and they have expertise over what’s required in making sure the lines are prepared and ready.”

The Trenton brewery also sits on an aquifer, which means the

‘I think that this is very, very important, not only for us as Molson Coors, but also for our employees, because it makes us proud and it makes us contributors to the society.’

Gabriela Bozdog

Molson Coors vice president and Trenton plant manager

plant has abundant access to clean drinking water.

Nordman said the canned water is stored and distributed on an as-needed basis. Often, local governments, local nonprofits or national organizations like the American Red Cross will

reach out to Molson Coors for assistance, but sometimes the brewing conglomerate will make contact if it believes there might be a need for water.

The program’s most recent benefactor was the community of East Palestine, Ohio,

which received 120,000 cans of water after a Norfolk Southern train carrying noxious chemicals derailed and residents worried their drinking water might become contaminated.

NICK GRAHAM / STAFF The Molson Coors brewery in Trenton paused operations on one of its canning lines Monday to produce 400,000 cans of water in anticipation of providing aid to communities across the country affected by hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires and other emergencies.