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Friday, August 31, 2012

2012 Tap Water Fights Back

Posted by Eli Sanders on Fri, Aug 31, 2012 at 1:36 PM

According to the LA Times, New York Sen. Charles E. Schumer, chairman of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, has slipped some home-state bottled water onto the 2013 inauguration menu.

And, because it's never too early to fight about what will be poured down gullets as the next president is sworn in:

The head of the District of Columbia’s water agency is calling on planners of next year’s presidential inauguration to serve local tap water, saying it is a way to show support for the nation’s drinking water systems...

George S. Hawkins, general manager of the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority, said in a letter to Schumer on Thursday, "If you choose to provide costly, environmentally harmful bottled water, we encourage you to at least provide attendees with a choice and also offer local DC tap water.’’

The bottled water vendor, Saratoga Spring Water Co., says: "We don’t appreciate the claim or the position the DC water officials are taking against bottled water."

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I rarely drink bottled water. I have no agenda or cause. It just seems plain fucked up when there's tap water to drink. And....I waste my money elsewhere.

Posted by dnt trust me on August 31, 2012 at 1:57 PM

In most municipalities, tap water is even healthier.

http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/bw/ex…

Posted by Sandiai on August 31, 2012 at 2:10 PM

I love Seattle's tap water and drink it all day. Bottled water is a depressing example of the absolute triumph of marketing over reason. Or reality.

Posted by emor on August 31, 2012 at 2:40 PM

@2, and often tastes better; bottled water picks up an off taste from the plastic, especially if it's been sitting in a hot car.

NYC water tastes better than any fancy spring water wherever it's from; in fact it comes from not all that far from Saratoga Springs itself. I dunno what DC water tastes like; Seattle's is delicious south of the Ship Canal (Cedar River watershed), but pretty bad-tasting north of it (Tolt watershed). But I drink Tolt water and have no real complaints. The inlaws in St. George, UT have the worst water I've ever tasted; it's milky and foamy and soapy and salty, and if you drank any your internal organs would all fall out of your asshole. They filter their water three times and it still tastes like crap.

The only time I buy bottled water it's really the bottle I'm after, not the water; I'd love to have tap water if I had something to carry it in. The dozen-odd bottles I forgot in the cupboard at home don't count.

Posted by Fnarf

on August 31, 2012 at 3:07 PM

DC water is a bit hard. I do not like drinking their tap water and I drink nothing but tap in NYC.

Posted by Cracker Jack on August 31, 2012 at 3:13 PM

Oh, and I'm from north of the ship canal and never had any complaints about my hometown water.

Posted by Cracker Jack on August 31, 2012 at 3:15 PM

We're at a point where we need a Yelp for tap water reviews

Posted by Chris Govella

on August 31, 2012 at 3:22 PM

I lived in D.C. from '02-05 and during that time the water department sent out warning letters to residents advising that the water supply was contaminated with toxic amounts of lead. Needless to say, sales of bottled water sky rocketed. I don't know how much has changed but I would rather drink bottled water while in D.C.

Posted by casusbelli on August 31, 2012 at 3:42 PM

I could see bottled water in a few places. The only time I visited San Diego (mid-70s), the tap water tasted pretty bad. I've lived in Denver, San Francisco and Seattle, and can't get why anyone with access to straight-from-the-mountains tap water would waste money on bottled, let alone the high environmental footprint.

Posted by ScrawnyKayaker on August 31, 2012 at 4:58 PM

Who do they think they're shitting? Saratoga Bottled Water is probably a truck that backs up to a water hydrant and the fill bottles there.

Posted by Weekilter on August 31, 2012 at 5:09 PM

@4 do they use a reverse osmosis system? Those work pretty well (except of course they remove the fluoride).

NYC water is fantastic, but DC water is shit (not just elevated levels of lead, there is also mercury and some other stuff I think). Schumer should just bring some NYC water with him.

Posted by minderbender on September 2, 2012 at 12:02 AM