The battle over bottled water is on, and cities and town across Canada are leading the way, turning the tide on water bottlers.  They are small victories, but quickly adding up.

The latest municipality to catch the wave, at the time of writing this, was Waterloo Region in southern Ontario.  But earlier this summer the City of London, Ontario passed a resolution to restrict the sale of bottled water at public facilities.  St. John’s Newfoundland, Nelson B.C. and others have passed similar restrictions and cities and towns across the country are considering the same, including Toronto later this fall.  

While the move to restrict the sale of bottled water by municipalities is largely symbolic, it sends a great message.  It promotes sustainable living.  It underlines a commitment to the environment, reducing resource consumption, greenhouse gas emissions and waste.  It puts faith back into municipal water systems.  It protects local sources of water.  And it promotes cost-effective government operations. 

If the environmental, health and economic arguments against bottled water are not clear, visit www.insidethebottle.org.   We really need to commend the dedicated people at the Polaris Institute (www.polarisinstitute.org) for holding the hands of municipal law makers as they travelled these turbulent waters. The bottled water industry is nothing to scoff at.  They are the heavy hitters of the beverage community.  Coke, Pepsi, Nestle.  These guys have been influencing governments for a long time and they make big waves with their deep pockets.  Good thing we know how to surf! 

Criticism has been minimal, but beverage company executives have been showing up to council meetings to plead their case.  While sales at many of these venues are miniscule for most water bottlers, they know this is could end up being a big loss for them.  It’s the first domino to fall and they know it.

We need all cities and towns to use their influence.  Get your community on board.  Call or write your councillors. Fill your reusable bottle with tap water and leave the bottled water on the shelf. 

Mike Layton, Environmental Defence