Community & Labour Action

US: Des Moines mayor: tap water as good as bottled

Associated Press.

DES MOINES, Iowa - The city's mayor wants to drain the city's bottled water supply.

Mayor Frank Cownie says he will propose that the city stop the use of bottled water in city buildings and encourage employees to drink tap water instead.

Cownie supported a resolution at a recent meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors that supported city water over bottled water, except in cases of an emergency when city water wasn't available.

"This is something, I think, we ought to be aware of in light of the fact that we're voted the best drinking water in the country," said Cownie, referring to a Forbes magazine ranking that listed Des Moines' water as the best in the country.

"What we're trying to do is let people know that local water is safe," he said.

The majority of council members said they would support the proposal.

Councilmen Tom Vlassis and Robert Mahaffey said they mostly drink tap water.

"We've got a tremendous water system here and the cost of bottled water is ridiculous," Vlassis said.

Cownie said once bottled water is gone from city offices he will approach Des Moines companies about enacting a similar policy.

"It's a broader environmental discussion that we ought to have with everybody," he said.

Critics of bottled water say its production emits extra carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and adds million of plastic bottles to landfill.

The International Bottled Water Association, an Alexandria, Va., trade association that represents the bottled water industry, said the mayors' resolution "is not in the public interest and could discourage consumers from drinking bottled water, which is a safe, healthy, conveniently available food product."

The group said bottled water must meet strict federal food safety standards and that attempts to reduce environmental effects of packaging should focus on all consumer products not just bottled water.

Des Moines wouldn't be the first to ban the purchase of bottled water by city government.

Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle all have adopted similar policies to save money spent on bottled water.

San Francisco spent almost $500,000 on bottled water before it stopped buying it last year. Los Angeles spent about $90,000 and Seattle officials said the move would save the city about $58,000 a year.

Banning the purchase of bottled water wouldn't likely save Des Moines money, said Finance Director Allen McKinley.

He said the city spends "a few hundred dollars" on bottled water each year. He wasn't able to determine the exact amount without sorting through invoices, he said.