Boston Herald - Group to state: Stop paying for bottled water

By Donna Goodison

Corporate Accountability International yesterday called on Gov. Deval Patrick to dump the state’s contract for bottled water.

The Boston activist organization wants the state to stop spending some $500,000 a year for Belmont Springs bottled water and instead pour the money into the public water system.

The group’s “Think Outside the Bottle” campaign encourages the use of tap water.  Bottled-water companies make a profit at a high cost to consumers and the environment, it says, since approximately 40 percent of their water comes from the same public water supplies as tap water.

Partner groups across the country made the same request this week of the 49 other governors, following the same call to U.S. mayors in 2007.

“Today, we’re asking (Patrick) to show that glossy advertising won’t trick us into buying water at exorbitant prices when our own state government provides some of the best drinking water in the country,” said Rob Kerth, a Corporate Accountability field organizer.

The state has spent $1.8 million on bottled water since April 2006, according to Kerth.
But state purchasing agent Ellen Bickelman said a reduced-price contract cut the state’s expenses to $508,000 in fiscal 2008, down from $537,000 the previous year. The state has spent only $181,071 on bottled water for the first half of this fiscal year, she said in a statement.

“It is important to note that this water is available at state offices that serve the general public and in some cases clients at agencies,” Bickelman said. “The administration is always looking for ways to save money, particularly in these tight fiscal times, and if there are efficiencies that can be found in this area without adversely impacting our clients and the general public, we will review those.”

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