San Francisco Bans City Government From Using or Buying Bottled Water

Is city water better than bottled water? Mayor Gavin Newsom thinks so.
Newsom has issued an executive order banning city departments from buying bottled water, even for water coolers. The ban goes into effect July 1, and will extend to water coolers by Dec. 1.

The move was billed as a way to help stem global warming and save taxpayer money.

In a press release announcing the decision, the mayor of this Northern California city cited the environmental impact of making, transporting and disposing of the bottles. More than a billion of them end up in the state's landfills each year, the release said.

When the ban goes into effect, city and county offices will dispense municipal tap water from a reservoir. Winnicker said exceptions will be made in cases where potable water is not easily available or poses health concerns.


SOURCE:
LiveScience.com

This is a very good idea, and one I'm not surprised is being initiated in San Francisco.

I've always thought personally that it's sad that water is a bottled and sold commodity in the
first place, but apart from that it's very bad for the environment unless you're using
clean power sources and biodegradable plastics.

And because I'm sure someone will misread this or not read it at all, the city is not
banning people from having or buying bottled water, it is simply not allowing the
city government to do so, not the general population.


Comments, Opinions?

[edit on 6/25/2007 by iori_komei]

It's not a bad idea.
WE have decent water filters on all of our drinking fountains at work.
They still supply us with free bottled water, if we want it.
I use a water bottle, but refill it over and over at the fountain.

But, in Mayor Newsom's case. I just think he's using the environment as the excuse. And that this is strictly a cost-cutting measure.

uhhhh....Unless you live in an area like I live where the city water has not passed an inspection in 4 years. I'll stick to my bottled water - San Francisco's city council will make up for my splurges. It beats heavy metal contamination of my kidneys and liver.

The PTB need the population to drink flouridated water. Fluoride makes people more pliable from repeated exposure to suggestion. This makes repeated things such as television advertising, PTB propaganda and flag images much more effective. Fluoride is a brain washing tool.

If you believe that banning unfluoridated water is a positive thing, you are already a lost cause.

My water is not flouridated.
Our county voted against the additive.

So I guess there is still hope for me.

Fishermanfred. Are those naturally occuring contaminants? Or industrial?
There are a few locations in my region that are naturally contaminated with mercury, and arsenic.

Originally posted by hippichick
The PTB need the population to drink flouridated water. Fluoride makes people more pliable from repeated exposure to suggestion. This makes repeated things such as television advertising, PTB propaganda and flag images much more effective. Fluoride is a brain washing tool.

If you believe that banning unfluoridated water is a positive thing, you are already a lost cause.

No one said anything about Fluoridated or unfluoridated water, nor about banning it.

This is simply the San Francisco city government no longer using or purchasing bottled
water for government/public use.

People can still get bottled water o otherwise form whatever sources there are.

SF water is treated with Chloramine. If yer fond of yer kidneys, don't drink it.

If you want to filter out Chloramine, make sure you have a filter that can do so. It might be harder to find a filter that can do this. From my study, it looks like a filter that filters out Chlorine, might not necessarily filter out Chloramine.

"Lovely" crap that gets put in our water supply. Chlorine and Chloramine are not the only ways to clean the water supply.

I drink bottled water when I don't bring filtered tap water with me to work a fair amount of time, but the shame really is that our water supply has come to such a state that bottled water has become so widely used.

And if we are going to package things, make sure the packaging can be recycled, and make sure that people are recycling the packaging. A recycling bin should accompany every trash can.

Troy

Me drink city water-I dont think so. City water is garbage where I live and they send monthly letters letting us know. There is no way I would drink city water from anywhere. Bottled water for me.

I agree with it if only because it IS a cost cutting measure. There's no reason for the taxpayers to buy bottled water for city employees. They all make good wages and get excellent benefits. They can buy their own bottled water if they want it, just like the rest of us.

Where I work we have only "industrial grade" tap water that's not really fit for drinking. While my employer filters the tap water to make coffee with, I bring in my own water from my home tap. If I asked him to provide me with free bottled water, he'd laugh in my face.