Ontario Municipal Water Association salutes City of London's ban on sale of bottled water

Aug 20th, 2008 4:13 AM

Ontario's water providers salute City of London's ban on sale of bottled water Sudbury, Ontario, August 20, 2008 - Today, Nick Benkovich, President of the Ontario Municipal Water Association, congratulated London City Council for its ban on the sale of bottled water. "The City of London's actions remind us once again- only municipal tap water delivers," said Nick Benkovich, "At about one thousand times the cost of municipal water, bottled water is simply not good value for money". Mr. Benkovich was responding to a London City Council resolution passed on Monday that effectively banned the sale of bottled water within municipal buildings and facilities where municipal water is readily available. In passing their resolution, London City Council cited the importance of promoting city tap water as safe and a bargain compared to bottled water. London joins a host of other Ontario municipalities that have either limited the use, or are considering limiting the use of bottled water on municipal premises or in schools, including Cambridge, Kitchener, Ottawa, Sault Ste Marie, St. Catharines, Sudbury, Toronto, the Town of the Blue Mountains, and Waterloo. Concern over the sale and use of bottled water is growing internationally given its cost, the poor recycling rate for single use plastic bottles, and the greenhouse gas emissions associated with manufacturing the bottles and transporting them long distances. "The Ontario Municipal Water Association is proud of the safety of the product that our municipalities produce and deliver every day to Ontarians," said Nick Benkovich, "Municipal drinking water has to meet a much higher safety standard than bottled water, and is delivered at a fraction of the cost." OMWA is the voice of Ontario's public water supply authorities. For more information on OMWA, please visit our website at www.omwa.org. -30- Media Contact: Doug Parker Executive Director, OMWA Cell: (613) 847-0590 Nick Benkovich President, OMWA Cell: (705) 690-5227