Letter to Guelph City Council:
I’d like to thank all those who make an effort to drink from re-usable water containers around the horseshoe and let you know about the immediate impact you’re having. I realize that it is not always possible, but as civic leaders in support of waste diversion, your efforts influence those attending council chambers, watching on television, on the internet and now a grade six class.
My youngest son has begun counting the number of ‘enviro-friendly’ water containers whenever council meetings are telecast in our home. The following day, he gives an update at his school. Bravo for setting a good example, it is being noticed. AO
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A responsible and healthier alternative to purchasing individual use disposable water bottles is Guelph tap water in a Klean Kanteen. Get a Klean Kanteen with every membership to the Wellington Water Watchers.
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The following editorial appeared in the Guelph Mercury:
I’ll take my water on tap any day
BRAD NEEDHAM
(Apr 25, 2007)
Have you ever done something so gross you’re ashamed to tell anyone? Like dropped a piece of pizza face down on the carpet, picked it up, brushed off any large, noticeable flecks of dirt or dust bunnies, and continued eating?
I might keep that a secret. That is pretty gross.
But I have a similar disgraceful story. I assume it must be gross, or at least strange, because I don’t know if many other people do it.
When I’m at home, or even in someone else’s home, I drink water that comes straight from the tap. Here’s the kicker — I don’t even filter it. I drink it straight up. And I love it.
I do have a water jug with a filter in my fridge. It’s right at the back, behind the milk, orange juice, Clamato, pickles and Coke Zero. It gets moved to the front when I have company. After all, I don’t want to look like a Neanderthal.
Maybe I’m crazy. Or could it be that you, yes, you holding the bottle of water, are just a sucker?
I ask this because of the growing battle in Guelph between a grassroots organization and a multinational corporation: Wellington Water Watchers vs. Nestle Waters Canada.
“Nestle is the new Wal-Mart,” James Gordon, the person who organized a recent meeting of the water-watching group, told a Mercury reporter.
That’s a lofty assertion. The Wal-Mart battle went on for a decade before the retailer finally broke into Guelph.
But, Gordon stressed, this is worse. Wal-Mart was about shopping, he said. This is about the possibility of Guelph residents running out of drinking water if we keep giving it away for free to a company that turns around and makes us pay for it.
Hmmm, that does sound worse. Here’s the issue. Nestle is applying for a permit that would allow it to take up to 3.6 million litres of water a day for the next five years from its Aberfoyle site. This number is no different from what it’s taking now; it just wants to lock it in for five years.
Now maybe I’m naive, but 3.6 million litres a day seems like an awful lot of water.
There’s all this talk about water conservation and how to sustain our water levels. We’re telling people to stop watering their lawns. But Nestle can take 3.6 million litres a day?
And what are they going to do with this water? Bottle it, ship it to a convenience store and watch the money roll in and the landfills grow.
I guess I just don’t get the appeal of bottled water.
When I was in Turkey a few years ago, I drank some water I thought was from a bottle — until I noticed my gracious hosts filling the bottle from the tap. I’ll spare you the embarrassing details, but the next three days were very rough.
I drink water directly from the tap in Canada — without even using a cup — and I’ve never been sick from it.
My point is that in Turkey I needed bottled water. In Canada, I don’t.
Canada’s drinking water is probably among the cleanest in the world. Yet there are several companies — such as Nestle, Evian and Canadian Springs — that like to make us think bottled water is better.
Did you know that in Canada, water that’s not sold as mineral or spring water — like distilled water — could be produced from a municipal water supply? Yup, tap water.
So I guess I’m not crazy and you are a sucker. And I have even more proof: Evian spelled backwards is naive.
Coincidence? I think not.
Brad Needham is a Mercury copy editor. His column appears Wednesdays.
To comment, send him an e-mail to [email protected].