Study bottled water ban on city property: Johnson

The idea of banning bottled water on city property has bubbled up again in Hamilton.

Coun. Aidan Johnson will ask his colleagues Wednesday to support a study on the implications of preventing bottled water sales at arenas, parks and other city facilities.

Council previously considered but rejected such a proposal in 2010, not long after the City of London, Ont. made headlines by banning bottled water sales in municipal buildings.

Johnson said his intent is to pump up the use of taxpayer-funded treated water and help preserve fresh water reserves viewed by some environmentalists as increasingly under threat.

“I think bottled water is being broadly identified as a problem in fresh water conservation and protection,” Johnson said, pointing as an example to the recent controversy near Guelph where bottling giant Nestlé outbid a local municipality for the rights to a groundwater well.

The province has proposed a two-year ban on new water-taking permits as it looks at new regulations to address concerns it sells Ontario groundwater too cheaply — right now, charging $3.71 for every one million litres on top of permit fees.

“The other thing I think we can emphasize through a ban is the case for tap water. It’s clean, reliable and in many cases better than bottled water,” Johnson said.

The Ward 1 councillor acknowledged not everyone agrees. Council has heard repeatedly from passionate residents on both sides of the debate over fluoridation in Hamilton’s tap water to battle tooth decay.

Six years ago, the city considered arguments for bottled water bans that include reducing plastic garbage in landfills and promoting use of municipally treated tap water. That would technically help a city with declining water consumption rates but growing infrastructure repair needs.

But the city has not seriously examined the pros and cons of a bottled water ban since the last debate in 2010. “In the past, our philosophy has been education on the value of tap water and having the consumer make the smart choice,” said water director Andrew Grice.

That hasn’t always been easy in city facilities.

When City Hall was renovated for $74 million, it was initially bereft of water fountains, which were later added after resident complaints. The city’s new $145-million football stadium was also unveiled without fountains, but bottle-filling stations were added this season.

The majority of city arenas and other municipal recreation buildings have fountains, said facilities manager Rom D’Angelo — or at the very least, potable water in the bathroom.