The town of Battleford took the first step towards reducing bottled water consumption when they officially declared March 10 as Bottled Water Free Day.
The declaration was made during the Jan. 10 town council meeting, after council received a delegation consisting of John Paul II Collegiate's Kiwanis Educating Youth (KEY) Club member Sarah Leibel, KEY Club advisor Dave McQuaid and Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace (CCODP) regional co-ordinator, Armella Sonntag.
Sonntag explained the CCODP had made a video presentation to the KEY Club, who then decided to make the bottled-water free campaign one of their initiatives.
Sonntag enumerated to council the many reasons for eliminating the use of bottled water. Although bottled water companies invest a significant portion of their budget in marketing the idea that bottled water is purer and safer than tap water, the opposite is often true, said Sonntag. She pointed to the fact that over 25 per cent of bottled water is actually tap water that is reprocessed. Also, bottled water is not subject to the same level of scrutiny as public water, which is tested regularly throughout the year. By contrast, only six per cent of water bottling plants in Canada had been inspected since 2008.
Independent testing of bottled water has revealed that bacteria and mold levels are significantly higher than in public water.
McQuaid said, "I won't go to a public fountain for my own personal health reasons, but I have a blind faith in bottled water," adding he knows nothing about the process that takes place in bottled water plants.
Sonntag also pointed out that plastic bottles are rapidly filling up landfills, adding that even if a bottle is recycled, making a single one-liter plastic bottle requires approximately three liters of water and a third of a liter of petroleum. Transporting bottled water also uses a great deal of fuel.
Besides the health related and environmental reasons, Sonntag said increased use of bottled water is leading to an increase in privatization of water sources in under-developed nations, which in turn is restricting poverty-stricken people's access to safe drinking water.
She also mentioned the federal government spent over $15.6 million on bottled water between 2003 and 2008.
"The marketing was great," said Sonntag. "We all bought into the idea of buying bottled water."
She recounted how, 10 years ago, people scoffed at the idea of paying for water, but now it's so common, many public places have stopped providing or maintaining water fountains.
Sonntag said since the campaign began, 82 municipalities, seven school boards and nine post-secondary campuses have committed to restricting use of bottled water by phasing out the availability of bottled water while simultaneously ensuring and encouraging access to potable tap water.
"We're asking people to consider supporting publicly owned and operated water utilities and basically to kick the water bottle habit, for obvious reasons," said Sonntag.
McQuaid added the KEY Club's main goal is to raise awareness, not "telling people what to do."
He said the KEY Club would be making a presentation to the Light of Christ Catholic School Division.
Councillor Garth Walls agreed with the importance of the campaign, pointing out town council drinks tap water during meetings.
"We take extreme pride in our water and the quality of our water," said Walls, adding many people visiting Battleford comment on the great taste of Battleford's tap water.
Mayor Chris Odishaw jokingly lamented, "Well, so much for bottling our water and selling it."
Odishaw thanked the delegation and said although the idea "sounds good," he would like to gauge the public's opinion before moving forward.
It was not until the end of the council meeting that Bill Halewich decided to get the ball rolling, making a motion to declare March 10 as Bottled Water Free Day, saying it was the least they could do. Council carried the motion.
