City of Seattle Gives Bottled Water the Boot

Seattle doesn't have to worry too much about prescription drugs in the water. Nearly all the water comes from reservoirs from watersheds in the Cascades. Other than maybe the 'runoff' from a couple hunters, there isn't much of a way for prescriptions to make it into that uninhabited land.

Are you sure Seattle doesn't get their water from Lake Roosevelt?
I know here in Portland we get Bull Run, which is the best in the United States, however Lake Roosevelt is a highly contaminated Lake!
I also think it's a great idea and wish Portland would ban more things like plastic bags and bottles. That would be bliss!

Carrie:

"The Cedar River Municipal Watershed is carefully managed to supply clean drinking water to 1.4 million people in the greater Seattle area. The watershed covers 90,638 acres and is owned by the City of Seattle. Melting snow and rain are gathered and stored in two reservoirs -- Chester Morse Lake and the Masonry Pool created by the Masonry Dam. "

Sheesh, whatever happened to watching out for Big Brother? Now the government presumes to tell us where to get our water? I think it's preposterous that our mayor feels the need to dictate where and how we should drink and I feel like it's silly that the government is having more and more of a presence in all of our lives and yet we stand by and applaud. If you don't support bottled water, don't buy it, but don't presume to remove the option from others.

An excellent move, I applauded vigorously.

Next thing they ought to do is ban all plastics and unnecessary chemicals.

When that happens, I'll stand up and cheer, waving my arms like a lunatic.

An excellent move, I applauded vigorously.

Next thing they ought to do is ban all plastics and unnecessary chemicals.

When that happens, I'll stand up and cheer, waving my arms like a lunatic.

why just water bottles? why not all plastic beverage bottles--sodas, fruit juices, sport drinks, etc.?

I agree with Chris. Many people are just going to purchase other bottled beverages. Why discriminate against just water (which is the healthier choice) when so many other beverages use the same packaging?

America is the land of the free, right? We should be free to choose what the heck to buy and what water to drink. SEATTLE is unjust and we ought not tolerate this any longer.

We are losing our rights one by one... what will be next?

A smoker and now bottled water drinker in Ohio!

The mayor didn't ban bottled water -- he just stopped wasting taxpayer money on the stuff. Seeing as 40% of bottled water (including Dasani and Aquafina) is nothing more than municipal tapwater sold at a few hundred times the price it is a very wise decision.

As for taste -- rarely do folks do better than flipping a coin when trying to pick between bottled and tap water (no suprise here -- it's usually the same).

American cities provide some of the cleanest, safest, and best water in the world. Cheers to the Mayor of Seattle for thinking outside the bottle!

So isn't recycling a better option for all the plastic bottles? Plus this will allow all of us to continue to drink clean water.

Are you kidding me? They're just trying to get even more sodium Flouride into our boddies. Anyone who doesn't know about sodium flouride needs to do research immediately.

And don't call me a conspiracy theorist unless you've done the research. It's a FACT that the stuff is a toxic chemical and is damaging our brains, yet our government pumps it into us and claims it to be healthy.

BIG difference between calcium flouride and sodium flouride people. WAKE UP. Stop drinking your tap water, drink an equal ammount of SPRING WATER (filtered water often leaves the stuff in there, just read a BRITA box) and I promise you'll feel better in 1 month. NO DOUBT.

Sick people are good for the economy, folks.

And i thought we originally went to plastic because it was recyclable and good for environment! Time to stop using the 'environment-friendly' as a term for anti-capitalist!

Gee- great idea Seattle. Now where will you place all of the empty plastic, paper, or styro cups people will use instead?

This is bs so people in seattle cant get a bottle of water when there out thats def bull. if people go to a store and want a drink they cant get a bottle of water they have to get soda or joice thats doesnt give people the choice.

Wow?! Greg decides to "save" the Seattle taxpayers 58,000 on bottled water but decides to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on the South Lake Union Trolley or S.L.U.T. that goes nowhere and is a complete waste of time and money. This guy is in the pocket of some of the richest people on earth and is corrupt as can be. His own child is now a felon for taking part in a gambling scheme at a local casino. What an ubsurd waste of time and money. Ride the S.L.U.T. Greg!!

I think that banning the bottled water is taking away the rights of all Americans, the country that was founded for freedom. Now if something offends one person or one race they ban it, forgetting what everyone else wants. If you don't support bottled water, platic bags, or other plastic items, then don't buy them. You're not going to do away with plastic it every where, toys, cars, medical equipment, tools. Lets not forget there are recycling facilities do dispose of plastic materials. Also, companies such as Beaulieu of America melt down plastic bottles and make polyester carpets at a lower price than nylon. There are more important things to worry about other than a ban on bottled water, such as a drought in the south east of the United States.

I think everyone against this is over reacting. They can still buy bottled water in stores, just not at government events. If you want a water bottle there, buy a reusable one and bring it yourself. I think it's a great idea.

That's not the case at all. People have a choice-they will still be able to buy bottled water if they want it, it just won't be on the city's dime. Everything that isn't state-owned will still be able to sell it. Seattle is doing a great thing here! If someone wants to waste their money buying something that they could get more easily (and for free) out of the tap, then there is no reason why Seattle should be paying for it. Of course it's good to push recycling as well, but baby steps are necessary in weaning the American people off of this ridiculous obsession with "pure" bottled water.

i think it's funny all u guys are sitting here talking about water.

Banning bottled water? I can't believe people think this is a good idea. I'm going to laugh when a terrorist poisons their water supply and they all die. Not that it can't happen with bottled water too, but they just took away the choice!! And Chicago taxing it makes me dream of things like the Boston Tea Party. Ahhh, what it must have been like to live in a country with people who fought for their rights instead of giving them away at every opportunity.

Here's a solution... instead of banning it, put a bottle deposit on the bottle!! They'll never end up in a landfill again. In Michigan, we have the highest bottle deposit in the country, and you almost NEVER see bottles anywhere but in the return bin at the stores!!!

I am sick and tired of losing ground to people who think they can make up my mind for me. I want my country back!!!

Maybe the overweight Seattle mayor should ban himself from pastries as well. Bad for his health and besides all the grain used in making the pastries could be used to produce more in-efficient ethanol. Hypocrite. Government has to stay out of peoples lives.

Does anyone even bother to read the article? It says that the mayor wont let the CITY buy anymore bottled water. No where does it state that you cant buy it personally. Jeez people quit your whining and start appreciating the $58,000 that he just wiped off the budget. I for one appreciate any cuts like this.

The first question I have is why are all those recyclable plastic bottles being landfilled? You are at least 20 years behind the times there.

The second is how are you going to hydrate municipal workers in hot weather? This may be the easier of the two to answer, but is still significant. One heatstroke case resulting in hospitalization will wipe out any supposed savings.

The headline and body of the article do not agree, as is usual with many newspapers. I saw nothing in the body of the article banning the sale of bottled water, just a statement that the City would not be purchasing it. Which is correct, headline or article?

Its Ironically we are been foreced to recycle...Do they not know the toxics that recycle plants make?

WOW, so many people, who all knew they were being taken for a ride already, act as if they are just waking up to an already established fact.

You don't really think that a couple of planes made the two towers fall at freefall speed do ya?

no of course not, 911 was an inside job and everyone even the sceptics know it was.
Just video-google - loosechange 2nd edition.
or 911 in planesite.

Water isn't the only thing you have to worry about,
go to prisonplanet.com for further investigations on many other topics.

have fun little ones.

there are companies out there now that are making decomposable plastics. the shelf life is appr a year, and once the decomposition begins, the process a matter of weeks. why not insist the same for as many consumable items sold in plastic containers?

and take it further....isn't there an enterprising paper company out there that has figured out how we can reforest from all the paper that goes to waste?? isn't there some way that you can put spores in all the JUNK mail? :) Why isn't there a ban on that crap?

stop killing trees, grow hemp

I think it's a great thing. The mayor isn't saying you can't drink bottled, but he is saying that the CITY will not be paying for bottled water any more.

You still have a choice to purchase it yourself. That extra money can go into some politician's pocket...or to other services. hm.

I use reverse osmosis at home.I stopped buying bottle water years ago.The filter replacements cost $100.00 a year including the shower filter.I don't know how clean the water is where any of you live,but I live in Los Angeles and there is no way on this earth I'll drink this tap water.

I really don't think that most of the people that posted here read the article. The mayor is not banning the sell of bottled water to the entire city population, only to the City Government offices / functions.

I know that its a lost cause to post, sense the people that obviously only read the title wll NEVER read any of these posts.

Tap water makes me sick. Like "can't get out of bed sick". I'm never going to seattle now.

Personally, I have no problem with tap water as long as the municipalities do not fluoridate the water supply.
Fluorides accumulate in your system. My thyroid problem my have resulted from too much flouride. It displaces vital iodine in the thyroid.
Fluoride MAY help children (and only children) avoid cavaties, however, they receive more than enough just from canned goods, toothpaste and municipal-water-source bottled water. Even tea is loaded with it. Yes, green tea too.
Check out the research studies. The web has plenty of free sources.
It turns out that many industrial processes leave fluorides as a waste by-product. By convincing municipalities to fluoridate they are effectively using humans as an inexpensive, and even profitable way to dispose of their HAZMAT. The EPA is extraordinarily strict about the disposal of fluorine and fluorides. Look at the poison warning on your toothpaste (albeit, in tiny print). It's also used to soak wood telephone poles to keep the termites away. It is a very effective insecticide, but it has the nasty propensity to taint the groundwater.
Meanwhile, I have to take a prescription synthetic thyroid hormone and stay away from fluorides.
As soon as my municipality quits introducing fluoride into the water supply I will quit buying spring water.

Hey Seattle I have a better idea why don't you bottled your own tap water and sell it to your residents than you can make more money that is the solution to your problem!!!

I think Fluoride and Chlorine are a bigger threat.

lol Scott..true, true..lol.

Its obvious that some CEO in the "Bottled Water" industry did not contribute too the Mayors of Seattle, San Fran, & Chicago's Political campaign!
or any democratic candidate.
The same thing happened too Bill Gates & Microsoft back in the Clinton days---He refused too give money too the Clinton campaign or His "Library"/"Massage Parlor"--so they "Sicked" The Justice Dept on them.

That is great......... but what about the rest of the plastic encased beverages that make up the other 99% of the problem?

So on a hot day, at public events, there will be long lines at the drinking fountains. Sounds good.

And for a major city like Seattle, $58k doesn't seem like a heck of a lot.

I'm sure there are other things in the city that could be changed to save more significant amounts of money

That is great......... but what about the rest of the plastic encased beverages that make up the other 99% of the problem?

Almost all bottled drinks are bad for the environment- look at all the soft drinks that have no nutritional value that are sold. They too are filling up landfills. If we got rid of all those bad soft drinks and everyone bought a juicer and made their own fresh juices everyday or drank tap water then the environment would be alot better off.

Perhaps those empty fruit juice bottles can be put to use after all by using them to store Seattle Tap Water in the event of an emergency?

Does anyone even read the article before typing?

Half of you either read the headline and then went right away into rant mode or have zero reading comprehension skills. Either way, this was the first and last article on Treehugger I ever bother to look at the comments for.

If only the politicians were this responsible with all of the taxpayers money. Nichols should look into banning studded tires next to save on the ridiculous amount of road work that needs to be done due to the darn things. Chains and good snow tires are plenty good.

Then again with this money they save they will just find some other needless way to waste it.

It's freaking recyclable!! Isn't that why we use plastic? What am I going to drink out of at a Seahawks game now?

90% of you didn't even read the article. Wow. I can see the schools are doing a great job.

Seattle isn't banning tap water. The Seattle govt is no longer going to spend 58,000 dollars on bottled water when it has tap. This is a good thing because A: Bottled water is a stupid thing to waste taxpayer money on. B: It shows confidence in the cleanliness of the city's water, Seattle is the 2nd cleanest city in the country. And C: Bottled water causes a lot of pollution, this cuts down on that.

You can still buy bottled water.

And Tony, yes, you are a conspiracy nut. Sorry.

I think these bans go too far. I don't mind the ban for offices since there's easy access to the tap, but road crews should still be able to carry bottled water with them on the road. Has the mayor ever been with a road crew before? It's a very dirty job! I guess they have one dedicated waterboy to refill 50 mugs every morning for every crew. Did the mayor think of that? Crews have to deal with grimy hands, so I guess they have a crew of dishwashers too to clean up these mugs? So much for saving $58K when it costs more to pay the waterboy/dishwasher! Talk about a waste of $$$!

I also don't agree with the ban for government events. What happens when there is a community meeting or event where refreshments are served in the middle of nowhere (ie parks, rec centers) where there is no easy access to tap? Use the water fountain (if there is any)? No way! Do you know how contaminated those things are?! So I guess you're forced to drink soda. Let's increase the obesity epidemic instead! Not very smart!

As an urban planner, I provide refreshments at my community meetings as a way to get people to come and hold them through until they get home for dinner. (I get reimbursed) Now that I don't get reimbursed, I see more people not coming and people leaving early because they're hungry or thirsty. It's more trouble for them and that's not what community meetings are suppose to be.

These mayors need to think these things through better than to just ram it down city workers throats.

HAHA! Toolsheds....RTFA then understand it is the removal of bottled water from the CITY budget..... go put on your tin foil hats too!

Wow since when does the government tell us to do what with our lives. People use bottle water for convience when we are at events, festival, and running race. If we ban this bottle water thing in seattle than what are they going to use to carry the water as convience. ANSWER THAT!! People created the bottle water for the convience for people to use every where.

Fluoridated water is the single greatest public health victory we've acheived in the last 30 years or so. Cavity rates declined steadily at amazing rates as more cities fluoridated their water. However, in the last 5-10 years, when the bottled water fad really caught fire, the cavity rates went up for the first time in years, because people weren't getting enough fluoride.

If you actually believe the "studies" that have been done saying that it's poisonous, you should probably take out all your fillings, because the government is controlling your brain with them. Or maybe aliens, I forget which one... Real scientific studies are published in real scientific journals. Try searching a site like PubMed instead of dumpster diving on Google, where any crazy person can pass off biased rants and conspiracy theories as research.

Read before you comment he didint ban bottled water, just removed it from the city budget.....

PPL !!! Please read the work beforw you runn off at the mouth. You can still buy botteled water at the stor or anywhere else. Just not a city offices or venues.
This is a big problem in america today. Not reading all the lines, just the parts of the story that will let you complain about something. You can spend your money on any soda or drink you want. The city govetment decided not to waist money on botteled water in city run places. 58000 a year on water in kinda dumb, when you just need to walk to a fountain. Not to mention that the 58,000 or so saved can go to education or other projects to help better your lives. This is goverments way of trying to stop waisting your tax dollars

The number one question people should be asking is "Why is bottled water becoming such a big issue?" Why is it so important that everyone approve of the City Municipal water supply?

Overlook the big excuse that's being prepared for us, that's being popularized so efficiently, the excuse that the production of and the waste from the water bottles are "taxing our enviroment". How long has everyone been drinking soda's from plastic bottles with no complaint? Or cleaning supplies? Or cosmetics?

And now suddenly the bottled water industry is being attacked. ???
How can that make sense?
It doesn't.

Everyone must drink water. And thinking thus, can anyone imagine the simplicity of dropping something into the local water supply? It would effect EVERYONE! Already we have Chlorine in our City water. In fact they have to put it in there to keep the water sanitary and "drinkable". But any idea of how bad that is for you and what affect it's having on your health? The same with sodium floride. It's poison. Yet we're being told that City water is just as good for us as filtered or bottled water.

How easy would it be for a terrorist to infect the water that millions drink?
We are just taking the first step to playing into their hands, and Seattle and San Francisco are taking the first example-leading step.

Give me filtered water! Give me bottles! Give me my health...and the responsibility for it.

I wish even half the morons complaining about their rights and freedom of choice being taken away would actually read the article. The ban is for city departments only and it will save money. If you want to continue to drink bottled water and filling landfills with plastic bottles (that's right , most people don't recycle cause they are lazy or uncaring) go right ahead. Your children will ask you why someday.

Ok,,I have read the article, read many of the comments,,,this is not about not having any bottled water in the whole city,,,just on PURCHASED by the city for city employees or events,,,if I am understanding the article correctly,,,i once lived there,,,loved so much about the city,,,and will move back one day soon,,but this is a little over board,,,I like smart water myself,,,and will still buy it,,and probably reuse the bottol(ya, i know BACTERIA)
WHATEVER

There probably should have been a vote on this.

It seems like every move our President or city officials make these days are aimed to hurt us in the long run. I have a bad feeling the USA is going to fall very soon and it will not have been forced but handed over by US citizens. Something is not right in the USA anymore. George Bush is a traitor!

My applause go out to the poster named Steve who brought to attention the sodium flouride issue. Have any of you ever actually gone to your municipal water facilities website and seen what is in tap water? It's disgusting and many of the contaminants are known carcinogens. Do the research people before you drink up. It will save your life!!!!

You stupid selfish people…… you people are just worried about your rights… what government is going to take away next….. WAKE UP idiots… we have already dug our graves with producing enough pollutants and green house gases. If someone is talking baby steps towards prolonging our doom appreciate it and support it instead of whining. By the way for the folks who are complaining about governments controlling your life, you are already controlled from the day you are born. So stop whining and appreciate someone’s efforts to make our lives a little better.

Mike, I agree.
Thats a huge problem for people who are always high and think the Gov is big brother; trust me, if your not doing anything wrong, they can't afford to snoop. - Back to the bottled water thing, Seattle is helping set a Eco- friendly trend that governments across the country will hopefully implement.
This will acomplish more then any one individual can do to impact our world ! ! ! ! ! ! ! We should all do our part and it should start with our LEADERS ! ! ! !

This is absolute BullShoot. Totally Preposterous. This Mayor belongs in the former Soviet Union. I propose that he no longer uses Toilet Paper at all Govt Sponsored events - but Just Him ! It'll save Seattle Millions$. Talk about assbackwards - what a doofus.

And I oughta know, I'm from San Francisco. The place that proposed having our Power Company remotely regulate our Thermostats! Complete and Utter Lunacy. Communists, GO HOME!

Finn, you're right, while reading the coments I was wondering if people even read the article.

I think it's a smart move on mayors end.

That little dough boy is all about control, he has never met a tax he did not want to triple. Frankly, Seattle is becoming less and less a city of the citizens and more and more this doughboys private kingdom. I personally don't want to be drinking water out of the same fountains that the druggies and drunks are using. If the city workers are using bottled water, why not have recycle bins in the offices for them to place these bottles when they are empty? Boy, that would never occur to the one who wants total control over people's lives. He is getting as bad as the mayor of SF, except he is uglier and has a son in prison! Usually those who can't control their own families try to control everyone elses.

I wonder how people will react if United States bans bottled water just like gold and provides plenty of good quality water( like the most of the municipal water now). I wonder whether these whining people will go thirsty or drink the healthy water what city provides. I would dance if the states ban not only the bottled water but also carbonated beverages. At least we will have a healthy population living up to 100 years

*sigh* Yes, chlorine and sodium fluoride are poisonous. Then again, so are digitalis and botulin, both of which are used medically. Any toxicologist worth his or her salt will tell you it's the dose that makes the poison. With the amount of sodium fluoride put into the municipal water supply, the average person would have to drink about a bathtub full of water every day to get enough sodium fluoride to make himself sick. And, frankly, if you're drinking _that_ much water, you're going to have kidney problems long before the fluoride poisoning kicks in!

I think its funny how he wants to ban bottled water from the city budget. So the city of Seattle will save about $58,000? That is pocket change for the city of Seattle. There are much worse things than bottled water that the dumbass mayor could ban from the city budget that is worth a hell of a lot more than a lousy $58,000. I dont know how stupid people like Greg Nickles get to be the high ranking officials that they are

This is ridiculous.. Obviously its a ploy by the writer to get more readers. It reads like the mayor banned bottled water through out the city, which isnt the case. Yahoo didnt help with their headline. Just more tricks to get a reader to see their story.. The media has their tricks and mis-leads the public way too often. I find it irresponsible. This is clearly the Mayor trying to drum up more business for his own water .. its all about making money for the city. They play off peoples fears, and the fear of choice these days is the Environment....

The article was great, the reading comprehension skills of many of the posters could be vastly improved. I have never seen so many comments ranting about issues the article NEVER even stated, before. I am just astounded.

This is ridiculous.. Obviously its a ploy by the writer to get more readers. It reads like the mayor banned bottled water through out the city, which isnt the case. Yahoo didnt help with their headline. Just more tricks to get a reader to see their story.. The media has their tricks and mis-leads the public way too often. I find it irresponsible. This is clearly the Mayor trying to drum up more business for his own water .. its all about making money for the city. They play off peoples fears, and the fear of choice these days is the Environment....

For those of you who are thinking of posting...Read the article before you type, you will appear to be less of an idiot.

Here are some things to consider: Just a generalization, not specific to Seattle.

Bottled water-
Pro's - convenient, portable, and available in different flavors.
Con's- packaging contributes to polution, bottled water industry is not REGULATED for any cleanliness standards...so you don't really know what you are buying. It's expensive. potential threat exists from biological warfare since the majority of the bottled water sold is just bottled tap water and since there's no regulations in this industry, the contamination would likely go undetected.

Tap Water-
Pro's- Readily available in every office building, school, park, and home. Fraction of the cost of buying bottled. Heavily regulated-at least we know what's in it. It's a renewable resource.

Con's- not as convenient, only available in one flavor, potentially a terrorist target for biological warfare.

If you don't believe me on the regulation part of it, see for yourself.
Better yet, almost every county health department offers water quality testing. Get two sample collection bottles, mark one "Sample A" and fill it with tap water from your house. Mark the second one "Sample B" and fill it with your favorite brand of bottled water. Submit the samples for testing. In most instances there won't be any measurable difference, in some instances you will find that the city tap water is actually cleaner than the bottle of water you just paid $1.50 for.

Bottled water is one of the biggest money making scams out there. If you want to make millions, come up with a catchy name, flashy logo, and bottling equipment...start filling from the TAP and soon you will be reaping the benefits of this scam as well.

The ultra-liberal, conspiracy theorists, and hemp advocates need to get a clue. Wake up!

Whatever, I normally don't drink tap water, but I gave it try and within 15 minutes I had the worst stomach ever. I'll never drink it again.

To Steve A.

The mayor isn't dictating that all people ban the bottled water, he mearly stated that the city ( government run offices) were not going to pay for it anymore. This means drink your bottled water if you want, but if you expect the government to pay for it you are in for a surprise.

I think that it is one of many silly but true steps taken to give an outside the perspective that Seattle is a Green City,...Please don't be fooled. This city has had so many conferences and meetings as you can tell by the overwhelming amount of replys on this article and yet they can never decide something and just move on it, we smother everything and every idea in Seattle
I agree the $$ saved is smart and an easy pic to make considering all the recent water info !!! Funny how big of a surprise that info is to those still sleep walking and green talking.
I think that the earlier statement about all bottles in the city is one to think about. I persoanlly have tried to set forth the idea of the bottle tax but this city will have nothing to do with it!
N O T H I N G ! ! Any city that will not recycle plastic bottles is not a green city!!!!

For all the people who are critical of this article and the mayor of Seattle.....

READ THE ARTICLE!!!!!!! YOU ARE MAKING YOURSELVES LOOK LIKE IDIOTS!!!!

Just don't read the headline and post. Please become informed.

That is all.

Please do a better job of reading, people. This is not a general ban on bottled water. It is a ban on spending tax money for bottled water. That does not breach anyone's rights- quite the opposite. These little handfuls of bottled water that institutions buy by the truckload are SO wasteful. Have some foresight and bring water with you in a reusable container that will last.

Where do you honestly think that bottle goes when you chuck it in the trash? Ever been to a landfill? Think of your own accumulated contribution to a landfill in your lifetime. Now think of how many people there in America. You can't count them all, right?

Yeah this post is geared more towards the containers a bit. There is no harm in selling clean water. But the real problem is really on their storage which become waste and eventually add to another dimension of the whole plastic waste management problem.

for "steve": for someone who's sold on the 'fluoride in drinking water is bad for us conspiracy,' perhaps you should learn to articulate your argument better than just fear-mongering. And you really can't be all that concerned if you're spelling it "flouride," because if you'd done any reseach, you'd know how to spell it in the first place.

For all of you worried about "What are we going to do without bottled water?!?!!?!" haven't you seen a Nalgene before? There are so many types of REUSABLE water bottles that you can bring with you to your Seahawk games and to your running meets, and they are even more convenient. Because no matter where you are, or if you have $1.75 on you to pay for WATER, you can just uncap your reusable water bottle and fill it up FOR FREE anywhere, drinking fountain, fast food place, bathroom, restaurant. And if you still want to pay more for water than for gasoline (which is a free commodity provided by every city in the U.S., a luxury the majority of the world can only dream of) you can because Seattle is not banning that, you can still CHOOSE. Learn how to read an article. And if you think this is the first time government is limiting our choices, my God learn something and stop being so ignorant and dramatic about the government trying to do something good for us.

I only buy bottled water for the bottle, not the water! ;)

for the person who asked about lake Roosevelt, seattle does NOT get its water from there, it all comes from protected watersheds, primarily the tolt and cedar rivers which are in the cascades, the watersheds are basically off limits to people, there is almost no risk in seattle of the whole rx in the water thing

If Seattle can, other countries can, too! Can anyone ask the goverment in our country dothe same too? I think its great !

The comments would be a little more "intelligent and civil" if the headline had been better.

Try these (I have no idea what your length requirements are):
No More Bottled Water On Seattle's Dime
Seattle Takes Bottled Water Off City Budget
Seattle Mayor: No Tax Money for Bottled Water
Seattle Mayor Decrees: No Bottled Water At Seattle City Functions
Seattle Leads By Example: No Bottled Water on Taxpayer's Dime

See? This would make for a more informed conversation. It would eliminate perhaps half the comments that are reacting to perceived overreach that didn't happen.

Good Job Seattle. Bottled water is really bad for the environment. Hopefully more cities will do the same thing.

If their Going to "save" all this money then they better put it back into something use full like developing recyclable containers or growing hemp instead of trees.

why is tap water a problem, and who said that BOTTLED water was't a form of government control. come on! look at it from both sides.

The next step would be to ban plastic shopping bags as Germany has done very successfully already. Bring your own tote bag!

I think putting a deposit on bottles and cans really helps. Maine is currently the only state that has a deposit on just about every bottle of water/soda/juice that is sold in the state, and they have been recycling bottled water bottles for at least 10 years, where has the rest of the country been? Is it because Poland Spring water is based in Maine? Put a 5 cent deposit on every soda, water, juice and beer bottle and the rate of recycling will go up.

On another note, my wife and I purchase a case of bottled water every few months, and then refill the empties with filtered water from our Brita in faucet water filter, and it works great!

For all of the people complaining about loosing rights and big brother dictating what you can or cannot drink, you should really read the entire story.

Seattle is NOT banning bottled water from the city, the mayor is basically just saying that the city will not longer purchase the bottled water for its employees. This will save them about $58,000 over the course of a year.

So, don't worry you can still drink bottled water if you want, although it is not cleaner and I don't see why you would want to considering what a negative impact it has on the environment. Get a good water filter and be done with bottled water.

Adam

i think that this will be a greeat step into the plastic crisis in the world. if the city is going to make that step, the ppl should be supplied w/ bottles from the city. or a law to make sure EVERYONE has a bottle. if the ppl dont have a bottle wen they need it for thier health and safety, i think the mayor is to blame. even though it was a big step, it was against the city residents health. and seattle ranks 8th out of the 50 greenest city.

City water is highly contaminated and we have done lots of testing of our own. Bottled water is NOT always tap water, like Rob K suggests above. Read the label! If it was treated by reverse osmosis then you know nearly all of the contaminants have been removed... Dasani, Aquafina, Kroger, Kirkland, Sam's Choice... all are reverse osmosis water! Most others are just plain tap water. We have tested almost all of them. "Spring Water" is just tap water and an advertising gimmick. Yup, tested that too. Unless you have an incredible filtering system, you will get contaminated water from your tap. No thank you.

I like the article about The U.S. is known to have one of the cleanest and safest drinking water systems in the world. In too many parts of the world this luxury is not enjoyed. On a regular basis many people...including women and children...are known to die from drinking water contaminated with water born parasites and diseases....it would be an incredible act of love and compassion if we here in the U.S. could make an effort to reduce our bottled water consumption by a few bottles a week or month and give that money to charity. There are quite a few charitable organizations that are involved in well digging and providing water filters for impoverished communities around the world ( World Vision is one...1-888-511-6511 ) who do not have the money or resources available to do this themselves. In doing so we can potentially save lives and reduce suffering. We also do incredible good to the planet by reducing the oil consumption that goes into making plastic water bottles and by reducing the amount of landfill space that is used every year (reportedly 30 million water bottles and 41 million barrels of oil to transport and refrigerate that bottled water). We can make a difference.

They need to ban bottled water everywhere!
What everyone should have in their homes and what soo many people dont know is Kangen Alkaline Ionized Water System. I had enough of all the negative problems with water, bottled or tap. But this device was like a blessing It produces pure water that restores your pH levels. It removes contaminants and is a potent anti-oxidant. It also helps to detoxify and to super-hydrate your body. Dont take my word .. do the research, i did. My health and my families heath has totally changed because of it.. The site I stumbled on was www.beautyinwater.com ... knowledge is key!

I think it's a great move. I'm surprised so many people were too lazy to read beyond the headline before making a comment.

Personally I've stopped drinking bottled water, but use a pitcher filter because the water tastes and looks unappealing to me. If I go out I make sure to bring a reusable bottle with water from home.

Just because the water bottles are recycled doesn't mean it's a green and guilt-free solution.

I think that this was a smart move by Greg Nickels. Bottled water that you buy in the store is nothing more than tap water. Buy a Nalgene bottle, or better yet, a stainless steel one. Banning bottled water doesn't violate any rights. You can still carry your own RE-USEABLE bottle. They should have more drinking fountains that actually work to fill up your re-useable ones, and possibly have filtration systems in them. I think that water that was just filtered would be WAY better for you than water that's sat in a plastic bottle for months/years. Anyways, $58,000 might not be much when compared to the total amount of money spent in Iraq, but it definitely is quite a bit of money. That money could be spent on better public transport, and more water fountains, and possibly better filtration.

Make everyone buy a juicer? Ban all plastics? Are you guys serious? Are you truly listening to what you are saying?

This is America. We have rights. Government does not have the right to ban plastics or make everyone buy a juicer. Have you ever considered that it is all just a mindtrick?

Look at it case by case-
ethanol-takes 4 gallons of water to produce one gallon of ethanol. Ethanol emits very hazardous water vapor. This production is raising the price of food everywhere and for everyone. So much so that some poverished countries that once had money for food are now eating mudcakes.

biodiesel-emits only the amount of carbon dioxide that the amount of plants used per gallon to produce would consume-think about that. The plants are no longer there to rid us of the carbon dioxide.

coal-come on? we build more coal plants than any other power plants.

Natural Gas people it is CLEAN BURNING SOURCE OF ENERGY right in front of your very eyes. No need to spend billions looking for other energy sources, NATURAL GAS people. look it up.

gee here is a thought, why not buy a reverse osmosis filtering system and a large thermos and bring your own water to where ever you go, work, play, the park...it will save you $100's every year on it.

like Rob K. said "Seeing as 40% of bottled water (including Dasani and Aquafina) is nothing more than municipal tap water sold at a few hundred times the price it is a very wise decision"
This is so true, they got busted on this last year.

Remember this, The Soda companies (Pepsi & Coke) want all the rights to sell water because they know water is the new oil, war's will be fought over water, we must have water to survive.

the Earth is covered in water, water we can not drink, clean drinking water is less than 1% and we use it to make bottles for selling water, now does that make sense?

Also plastic bottles have toxic chemicals in them that get in our blood stream, They tell us that it is such a low level that it can not hurt us, but they are wrong and it has been proved.

Recycled plastic is only good to a point, recycling plastic can be done only so many times, then it is just a big toxic chemical that we have to find a way to dispose of and that is what we need to be afraid of, it gets in the ground water and we will be poisoned from it.

I could just go on and on and on about why we NEED to ban plastic bottles....but I will spare you ;-)

Thanks for your time.
AJ
ProjectEasyGreen

gee here is a thought, why not buy a reverse osmosis filtering system and a large thermos and bring your own water to where ever you go, work, play, the park...it will save you $100's every year on it.

like Rob K. said "Seeing as 40% of bottled water (including Dasani and Aquafina) is nothing more than municipal tap water sold at a few hundred times the price it is a very wise decision"
This is so true, they got busted on this last year.

Remember this, The Soda companies (Pepsi & Coke) want all the rights to sell water because they know water is the new oil, war's will be fought over water, we must have water to survive.

the Earth is covered in water, water we can not drink, clean drinking water is less than 1% and we use it to make bottles for selling water, now does that make sense?

Also plastic bottles have toxic chemicals in them that get in our blood stream, They tell us that it is such a low level that it can not hurt us, but they are wrong and it has been proved.

Recycled plastic is only good to a point, recycling plastic can be done only so many times, then it is just a big toxic chemical that we have to find a way to dispose of and that is what we need to be afraid of, it gets in the ground water and we will be poisoned from it.

I could just go on and on and on about why we NEED to ban plastic bottles....but I will spare you ;-)

Thanks for your time.
AJ
ProjectEasyGreen

Recycled PET bottles are a fantastic source of renewable polyester fiber for textiles and for plastics. It can be recycled over and over for eternity. True sustainability would be to cease the production of any new PET bottles or Polyester fiber made with virgin PET. Force manufacturers to use recycled PET bottles to produce anything currently using Polyester. There is plenty of raw material available if companies would just recycle the bottles in circulation today. ........

I have stumbled upon a wonderful solution to help give plastic bottles the boot now and forever! Please help me spread the word and join up with me against the fight!!

http://opportunity.myxziex.com/howitworks.php

Parker Hunt

We're all a bunch of spoiled brats. Do any of you complainers ever consider we are lucky to have water at all, let alone running from a tap (and through our wasteful toilets and through our wasteful irrigation systems)?? Yet, we insist on the luxury of bottles, too??
Worried about your health and tap water? Most bottled water IS tap water. Get a filter for your faucet and shower and then get real.

Seattle has a smart mayor for banning bottled water at public/city facilities and events because regular water bottles use a lot of plastic to do one. Imagine how much plastic is used to make a twenty- four pack of bottled water.Just guess how much gas it takes to make plastic. Just imagine how much plastic it takes to supply the U.S. and the rest of the world. It is sad how much of our nonrenewable natural resources "we" are using throughout the world, a lot of it in the U.S. because of the consistant growing of populations in larger cities like Chicago, Houston, Miami, Hollywood and Los Angelas.:( Many people already have switched to eco-friendly water bottlesthat are not as thick as the normal bottled water which is good.(for the environment:) Reusing is VERY important in the big, populated and possibly wasteful cities. (If any person that is reading this does not have eco-friendly waterbottles pease ask your parents to get the eco-friendly waterbottles so you can help save the environment and help other people "Go Green" and what that means is just reuse reduce recycle and start a compost pile to have bannana peals and other stuff rot in the hole in a yard.

People need to think about all the unnecessary energy costs that go into making a bottle of water...

One other way to purify your water is to use water filters, Specially for people with weaks system, people living with HIV or little kids. One another thing you can do is to test your water. The water couuld be purify but arrive at your home with lot of impurity, Hope my advice will help.

Look how DIGG LIES!

it says there are only 21 diggs on a story like this? There are more comments here than diggs. gimme a break.

I think we need to STOP going to Digg at minimum. but firstly, ALL OF YOU WHO READ THIS comment NEED TO get off yer A$$eS and just DO NOT ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN.

Starts with water. water, WATER! They banned WATER? not really, they BANNED NON-poisoned water.

youre still allowed to the drink the FLUORIDE filled water.

do a google search on how toxic Fluoride is and see why they REALLY banned this good drinking water. There is no other reason. When the guvment places POISON in ALL our drinking water as Russia did in the Gulags to calm the ppl down, (because it lowers IQ by 80% besides causing cancers, altzhiemers, many other things etc)... what is their goal here people?

what IS their GOAL?!

Too KILL YOU.

thats their goal.

Chlorine in city water kills thousands of Americans every year. This isn't just a crackpot theory-find a link on my web page to an article in a respected medical journal confirming this. I drink bottled water because chlorine is as almost as bad for people as it is for germs. - Conflict of interest acknowledgement -My company, BioGreen Products Co. sells biodegradable preforms which are made into biodegradable water bottles., and other biodegradable disposable plastic items. -Tim Dunn

http://biogreenproducts.biz

Wasn't the city selling most of this water? I have never been to a venue that hands out free bottled water.

So either the city will replace the sales of water with the sales of other drinks and negate any environmental benefit, or the city will lose the revenue created by the sale of that water. So the mayor can pat himself on the back for helping the environment, OR saving money, but logic requires that he can not have both.

Yay! I'm so glad Seattle did this. They should give reusable bottles out to city workers as well and maybe a bike discount? Nothing like leading by example. I'm still trying to get my boyfriend's company to stop offering bottled water and pop and hand out nalgene's and invest in a nice big water filter.