Archive for August, 2007

NY Times: In Praise of Tap Water

Thursday, August 2nd, 2007

Suddenly everyone is talking about NYC tap water: the high quality and low cost relative to bottled water (49 cents versus $1,400, according to the NY Times editorial quoted below), the health benefits relative to other beverages, the environmental benefits… and now the need for citizens and local governments to recognize that high quality municipal water is a valuable resource:

The more the wealthy opt out of drinking tap water, the less political support there will be for investing in maintaining America’s public water supply. That would be a serious loss. Access to cheap, clean water is basic to the nation’s health.

The NY Times has been leading the way with this information on the importance of our public water supply, and their latest editorial on the subject is worth checking out:

NY Times Editorial

August 1, 2007

In Praise of Tap Water

On the streets of New York or Denver or San Mateo this summer, it seems the telltale cap of a water bottle is sticking out of every other satchel. Americans are increasingly thirsty for what is billed as the healthiest, and often most expensive, water on the grocery shelf. But this country has some of the best public water supplies in the world. Instead of consuming four billion gallons of water a year in individual-sized bottles, we need to start thinking about what all those bottles are doing to the planet’s health.

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