U.S. Mayors Vote to Rethink Bottled Water Contracts

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Corporate Accountability International

A conference of U.S. mayors -- with support from restaurants, businesses, and public interest groups -- passed a resolution Monday to phase out municipal use of bottled water in favor of tap water.

• The resolution was passed after a study conducted by the U.S. Conference of Mayors found that bottled water is being sold for 4000 times the cost of tap water delivery systems even though up to 40 percent of bottled water comes from the same source.

• More and more consumers are turning away from bottled water because of economic and environmental concerns, choosing instead to use reusable bottles and faucet water filters. Meanwhile, producers like Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestle are seeking to address consumer concerns by using less plastic in their bottles.

• Several school districts in Canada are also moving to ban or have already banned the sale of bottled water in public schools due to its environmental impact. "It's ridiculous we sell bottled water in our schools when we have water fountains," said one Vancouver school board trustee.

June 23, 2008 - The U.S. Conference of Mayors passed a resolution today encouraging mayors to phase out city spending on bottled water and to promote the importance of municipal water. The resolution, authored by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and sponsored by mayors from 17 major cities, aims to redirect taxpayer dollars to other essential city services.

"Cities are sending the wrong message about the quality of public water when we spend taxpayer dollars on water in disposable containers from a private corporation," said San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. "Our public water systems are among the best in the world and demand significant and ongoing investment."

The vote comes on the heels of actions by more than 60 mayors nationwide, such as cancelling bottled water contracts, to address the budgetary, environmental and social impact of such purchases (visit www.ThinkOutsideTheBottle.org for a map of city actions and facts on bottled water impacts). The cities of San Jose, Miami and Orlando announced bottled water phase-outs in the days leading up to the vote.

OneWorld

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

1. This is going too far

I am reluctant to bathe in my tap water, I sure as hell am not going to drink it.

[rhett o rick]

2. So you drink unknown water from a bottle? Some bottled water companies use tap water.

If your municipal water isn't good get it fixed.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

5. I will take the unknown water that doesn't give me the shits

over what comes out of the tap.

[rhett o rick]

7. I bow to your experience. That is bad tap water. Forgive me for I am spoiled by the tap

water available here.

[Greyskye]

3. Filters

I can't blame you, if it's anything like the water in San Diego. I just about puked when I had some tap water there a few months back.

Get some good filters for your tap water - your taste buds will thank you!

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

4. we tried those Britta things

I am from Orange County and I find the water just awful, we tried those Britta filters but they didn't make a huge difference. Just a different flavor of disgusting. Although while I have been in Canada I have found the tap water in Alberta to be excellent and the tap water in Ontario to be as bad as Florida.

[Greyskye]

6. I wish I could recommend a good one

As our tap water is fortunately wonderful, we only have a filter on the refrigerator water. I still drink the majority of my water only out of that, as the filter is pretty disgusting looking when I change it.

I've been in peoples houses in areas that had filters due to the unique vintage of their tap water. In most cases, the filters really did get rid of the nasty taste. Good luck! :(

[rhett o rick]

8. I don't believe there are any regulations governing bottled water quality. I may be wrong.

In some cases I have heard of the bottled water companies use the same water as tap water.

[Greyskye]

9. There are, BUT...

...they are much less stringent then the regulations for tap water. Bottled water allows for (believe it or not) more insect parts per billion then tap water does. Isn't that a comforting thought? :rofl: