The Newburyport City Council recently approved the fiscal 2009 budget and while I did not attend the budget hearings, I am willing to hazard a guess that the departmental line items for Poland Spring multi-gallon plastic tanks of water were left alone.
Here’s a radical idea: Eliminate the multi-gallon bottle delivery to City Hall and other buildings and take advantage of municipal water. This would not only be pro-environmental but set a huge example for the ‘Buy Local’ movement.
There is now precedent.
The U.S. Conference of Mayors approved a resolution Monday to end procuring bottled water with taxpayer dollars.
About 250 mayors, representing the largest American cities, attended the conference in Miami. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, widely known for his environmentalism, wrote the resolution.
Newburyport water is very pure.
I previously wrote about the cosmetic makeup of water and how the pH and chlorine levels of city tap water are comparable to those of bottled water.
If a government building can do it, a household or business can surely do it too!
Because many homes and businesses have outdated piping, a Brita filter further purifies the tap water.
And for those who say that plastic bottles of water are recycled more frequently than other plastics, that is true but consider the significant amounts of energy produced to manufacture and recycle the plastic, not to mention delivery costs to transport the bottles from plant to store.
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Ari Herzog is an online media strategist and Newburyport City Councilor-Elect.
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I can’t believe that any city hall in New England is buying bottled water. AFAIK, there is no bad water in the Northeast. I have drunk tap water all over this country, in Canada, and much of Europe, and have never suffered any bad effects.
I work downtown and bought a Brita Filter. Works like a charm.
I did have a bad well in my old house, extremely high iron content. Undrinkable even with softening which was a pain in the ass.
Reason #23 I love living here is I no longer have to buy 2.5 gallon jugs.
Let them eat cake! …
And wash it down with tap water, or bottled water they brought into work with them.
Dick: When I refer to bottled water in government buildings, schools, etc, I speak specifically of the 5- or 10-gallon jugs from Poland Spring and similar bottlers. The handheld bottles are also problematic but what about the huge ones?
I can understand people not wanting to drink straight tap water, if for no other reason, then lead contamination from household piping. But PUR and Brita filters remove that gunk….and again, the pH levels are comparable to the source.
Tom: Iron, right. Like lead, iron poses problems. Filters don’t remove it? I only drink water from my Brita. Speaking of which, I need to replace the filter…
Gillian: Sure, people can bring in their own bottles of water which I hope they reuse.
I did a paper in high school that addressed ridiculous government spending. If I remember correctly, the Senate and the House spend thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars on bottled water every session.
Why not just install more drinking fountains? As a kid thats all we drank out of at school. Most of them were refridgerated fountains, too, although I am not to sure how energy efficient those were.
The bottled versus tap debate rages on here in the UK too, where everyone you see on city streets seems to be carrying a half liter bottle with them as if the British weather could suddenly change with global warming and have us all dehydrated within minutes. There is some medical evidence that all this sipping on water throughout the day is actually making our bodies more dependent on having a constant supply of the wet stuff and so when we are faced with seriously dry periods or water shortages none of us will be able to tolerate the conditions.
db
Andy: I agree. Connecticut legislators are (or were, in Feb 2008) looking at just this issue for the CT capitol complex.
David: Is this medical evidence you cite about just water, or any beverage in a phallic container?
Not so radical an idea Ari. Bottled Water purchases were suspended as far back as the Mead Administration. Who is to ‘Assume’ that taxpayer dollars are purchasing the Bottled Water in city Hall. A collection used to be taken up each month to supply the special coolers and water supply in the past. If the item was brought back to line item then it was under the present administration, if at all!
Pedro: Thanks for the history. I can only relate to that which I experienced as a city employee and there was no collection for water bottles. Interesting.
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