Sludge Watch ==> San Francisco - phase out of bottled water

[Maureen Reilly]

Sludgewatch Admin:

Now that Toronto's tap water won third prize in the tap water tasting 
contest -
Its time for Toronto and other cities to ban the purchase of bottled water 
at government functions.

San Francisco is to be commended in this policy.
.............................................



Office of the Mayor Gavin Newsom
City & County of San Francisco
Executive Directive 07-07

Permanent Phase-Out of Bottled Water Purchases by San Francisco City and 
County Government
June 21, 2007

San Francisco is proud of its historic role as an urban leader in 
environmental protection. For decades, our local government has provided 
environmental stewardship of the surrounding region’s water delivery system. 
This water delivery system consistently provides among the purest, safest 
drinking water in the nation from spring snowmelt stored in the Hetch Hetchy 
Reservoir and flowing down the Tuolumne River. Over the last decade, San 
Franciscans have responded to marketing campaigns to purchase bottled water 
and record amounts of bottled water have been purchased by San Francisco 
consumers and local government at the expense of the environment.

Such marketing has suggested that bottled water is safer than 
better-regulated, pristine tap water delivered by San Francisco government 
to its residents. As the city advances its Local Climate Action Plan to 
combat global warming, it is paramount that we initiate policies that limit 
the most significant contributors to climate change. The rise of the bottled 
water industry is well documented and visible throughout San Francisco and 
the entire world.

The global consumption of bottled water was measured at 41 billion gallons 
in 2004, up 57 percent from the previous five years. This consumption 
increase occurred despite the fact that bottled water often costs 240 to 
10,000 times more than tap water. In San Francisco, for the price of one 
gallon of bottled water, local residents can purchase 1000 gallons of tap 
water. Data suggests that the environmental impact of the bottled water 
industry has been profound. According to the Container Recycling Institute, 
supplying the plastic water bottles that American consumers purchase in one 
year requires more than 47 million gallons of oil, the equivalent of one 
billion pounds of carbon dioxide that is released into the atmosphere. More 
than one billion plastic water bottles end up in California’s landfills each 
year, taking 1000 years to biodegrade and leaking toxic additives such as 
phthalates into the groundwater.

Additionally, water diverted from local aquifers for the bottled water 
industry can strain surrounding ecosystems. Furthermore, transporting 
bottled water by boat, truck and train involves burning massive quantities 
of fossil fuels. All of this waste and pollution is generated by a product 
that by objective standards is often inferior to the quality of San 
Francisco’s pristine tap water.


By virtue of the power and authority vested in me by Section 3.100 of the 
San Francisco Charter to provide administration and oversight of all 
departments and governmental units in the Executive Branch of the City and 
County of San Francisco, I hereby issue this Executive Directive to become 
effective immediately:

• Beginning July 1, 2007, there will be a prohibition from any city 
department or agency purchasing single serving bottles of water using city 
funds, unless an employee contract specifies usage. This prohibition will 
apply to city contractors and city funded and/or sponsored events. There 
will be no waivers from this prohibition.

• By September 30, 2007, all city departments and agencies occupying either 
city or rental properties will have completed an audit to determine the 
viability of switching from bottled water dispensers to bottle-less water 
dispensers that utilize Hetch Hetchy supplied water. City departments will 
work with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC), Department 
of Real Estate (DRE) and the City Purchaser to conduct the audit. Staff from 
the SFPUC will contact you shortly to begin the audit for your department.

• By December 1, 2007 all city departments and agencies occupying either 
city or rental properties will have installed bottle-less water dispensers 
that utilize Hetch Hetchy supplied water. Waivers will only be granted by 
the SFPUC based on legitimate engineering, health and fiscal concerns.

For questions concerning this Executive Directive and its implementation, 
please contact Laura Spanjian, Deputy General Manager of the San Francisco 
Public Utilities (415-554-1540, LSpanjian at sfwater.org) Gavin Newsom Mayor