(Version française)

Recently the City of Ottawa removed energy drinks from sports and other facilities. Why? Because parents cared about the health of their community and took action. There is another product that should be removed from municipal buildings – bottled water. The reason? The health of our fragile planet and the fact that we have a better source of great drinking water right at our fingertips – one of the world’s best quality drinking water flows from our taps. Stopping plastic bottled water sales in municipal buildings is not a new or radical idea. Many large Canadian cities have already done this, including Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. Why hasn't Ottawa acted on this yet? Let's review some of the basics.

There are many reasons for action on this, here are a few:

1) We are dealing with a most basic human need. This has been recognized by city officials. Over the decades we have developed an excellent system of well regulated high quality water (more stringently regulated than bottled water) that costs much less that bottled water (1/1000 the price). In the last few years, the City of Ottawa has invested thousands of dollars to make sure access to water in municipal buildings increases by installing and retrofitting water fountains, and yearly, millions are spent on ensuring our tap water quality is up to par. Why is the city still promoting bottled water on municipal grounds? 

2) The present trend that one in five Canadians drinks water exclusively from bottled sources is wasteful. It uses precious non-renewable resources and contaminates the environment. Most water bottles are not recycled and end up either in landfills or scattered throughout the environment. Given that reduce is the first 'R', shouldn't the City of Ottawa lead by example?

3) Most of the bottled water sold in Ottawa does not come from local sources. Often it needs to be trucked in from far away, use up a lot of oil and contributes to global warming.

In short, we have an excellent low-cost, well-regulated source of drinking water available. Plastic water bottles are an expensive and destructive alternative to our system. 

As supporters of the city's current initiatives such as improving the management of rainwater runoff, making biking in Ottawa safer and investing in light rail transit, all initiatives that protect our water and help us fight climate change, we call on the city to take this simple, yet crucial action. Hundreds of schools, municipalities, restaurants and workplaces across Canada and elsewhere have already passed resolutions and taken pro-active step in this direction.

It is time for the City of Ottawa to take action to curb bottled water and reaffirm the quality of its tap water! Our two Ottawa universities have committed to becoming bottled water free. It is high time for the City of Ottawa to follow suit and put it on the agenda!

March 19th 2014 is the next Bottled Water Free Day. We plan to organize a delegation to deliver this petition to the City of Ottawa and demand action. When you sign the petition, the text below will be sent to city councillors and the mayor of the City of Ottawa. The text is the same as above.

(petition initiatiated by the Ottawa Water Study Action Group [OWSAG] with support from the Polaris Institute and the Council of Canadians - Ottawa Chapter)