BATTLE OF THE BOTTLE

Built-in water filtration system added to GTA developments

When you dream about your new home does it include a life without plastic water bottles? Best Water Technology (BWT) hopes it will.

The global water treatment company is on a mission to empower change by creating bottle-free zones, areas at home, work or in the community where plastic water bottles disappear because people have access to high-quality tap water instead.

And now three GTA developers are sharing the vision.

Minto Communities, Rosehaven Homes and Starlane Home Corp. are the first three builders to partner with BWT Canadian ambassador John Priolo to offer built-in water filtration systems as a standard kitchen feature in these new home developments: The Saint and 123 Portland condos by Minto in downtown Toronto; Ivy Rouge towns and singles by Rosehaven and Starlane in Oakville.

“Every time the consumer opens up the kitchen cold tap, they’re going to have filtered water that’s going to remove taste, odour and impurities,” says Priolo, noting the overarching goal is to change consumer habits, one glass of water at a time.

Priolo secured the exclusive Canadian BWT rights in September 2019.

A plumber by trade, he specializes in domestic water treatment and lobbied against bottled drinking water for years.

“I’ve always had an interest in the fact that people shouldn’t be buying water; we have great water coming from our taps,” he says. “So why don’t we start reducing, and let’s start by eliminating bottles from our daily usage in our homes.”

The standard system installed as part of the bottle-free zone campaign with Minto, Rosehaven and Starlane is the BWT Woda-Pure, an under-sink installation that reliably removes unwanted substances like chlorine while retaining valuable minerals.

Filters have a 40,000-litre consumption rating and typically last up to one year. Priced at about $115-$120, the filters swap in and out as easily as changing a light bulb, says Priolo, and in the future homeowners have the option to upgrade to filters that remove scale or add magnesium.

Priolo says all three builders view the trend as a “no-brainer.”

Though his interest is water, Priolo aims to “create a buzz so that everybody is focusing on reducing plastic.” The next step is to work with municipalities and builders to create bottle-free zones in new home developments from inception so that even the crews working on site have access to filtered drinking water from the first day they arrive.

“Why don’t we put in a tap or two with a filter so that construction workers don’t have to bring plastic bottles on site?” poses Priolo. “They can fill reusable water bottles instead.”