One councilman wants to ban expensive, over-blown bottled water
during meetings
Chris Bone – Staff Writer
cb***@gi************.com
GILROY
Like millions of Americans, the siren of bottled water has seduced the city council, but not if one councilman has anything to do with it.
“I’d like to propose that we stop drinking bottled water here and drink good ole’ Gilroy water,” Arellano said at Monday night’s council meeting as some of his colleagues jokingly hid their plastic bottles of Crystal Geyser. “We’ll support the environment in many ways,” he added.
Arellano got the idea from the Santa Clara Valley Water District, which began a campaign in September after it banned the purchase and sale of bottled water at its facilities. It also passed a resolution promoting the economic and environmental benefits of tap water.
Now Gilroy could follow suit with a limited ban on bottled water at city council meetings, but the body must approve the idea Nov. 19. It remains unclear whether any ban would extend beyond council chambers and throughout City Hall.
Either way, though, the water district will likely laude the ban.
“The impact of bottled water on our resources and environment cannot be denied or ignored. By prohibiting the purchase of bottled water, the district is promoting tap water, setting an environmental example, and reaffirming its commitment to providing a healthy, safe and reliable supply of water,” the water district press release reads.
Americans lead the world in bottled water consumption and spent $15 billion on the product last year. This enormous spending is driven by a chorus of romantic ads portraying the likes of cool Fiji springs and quixotic Alpine aquifers, according to water district officials.
But these folks say that “contrary to the propaganda, tap water is, in fact, subjected to more rigorous testing and purity standards than bottled water,” according to the district’s press release. It cites a four-year study by the Natural Resources Defense Council that found a third of the bottled water tested to contain contaminants.
Not only are the district’s standards much stricter, but their water does not require transportation via diesel and there is no plastic bottle that is often thrown away afterward. Arellano said all of this resonated with him.
“They gave a lot of reasons why we should stop drinking bottled water,” Arellano said, adding that the council should follow suit “especially since this council has supported the mayor’s initiative of the Kyoto Protocol.”
Councilman Roland Velasco joined all of his colleagues in giving a thumbs-up vote for the ban to be added to the next council meeting, but he said it was just out of courtesy to Arellano. Councilman Russ Valiquette wavered at first, holding out a level, palm-down hand, but then he turned his thumb up to approve the agenda item.
The water district manages oversees the county’s five watersheds, including 10 reservoirs and more than 800 miles of streams and groundwater basins.
It’s time to start honoring this under-rated system, Arellano said.
