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Franciscans urge charitable use of water Post-Bulletin -- July 5, 2007 By Jeff Hansel ROCHESTER, MN - The Franciscan sisters in Rochester won't be using bottled water. And they don't think anyone else should have to use it either. They plan to offer blind-taste testing, helping consumers recognize that it's hard to tell the difference between bottled water and tap water. They'll attend events, such as the Olmsted County Fair, to help educate the public. Bottled water is no safer than tap water, despite a perception to the contrary, said Zandra Rice, a spokeswoman for Corporate Accountability International's water campaign, at a recent Assisi Heights conference on water. But bottled water consumption, she said, has doubled in the past 10 years. Rochester water is safe "We certainly have drinkable water in our public water system here," said John Helmers, solid waste manager for Olmsted County Public Works. He said he supports the sisters' decision not to use bottled water. "If you're already having high-quality water delivered to your building from the public water supply, why would you want to pay someone to bottle it -- and then transport it to your site?" he asked. Rice said that if contaminants show up in water, it's time for citizens to ask why public systems are failing. The sisters suggest that businesses offer pitchers of water instead of bottled water, which often shows up as an option at meetings and conferences. Or, the sisters say, conference organizers could direct people to water fountains and save the company money. Nutrition? "Bottled water has benefited from this perception that somehow if it's in a bottle it's more nutritious for you than our water. But that's just a myth," said Jim Walters, a spokesman for Rochester Public Utilities, which supplies water to the city's homes and businesses. RPU tests Rochester water samples for 118 different chemicals and bacteria about 90 times a month (or about three times a day), Walters said. Public water systems like RPU must conform to the Safe Drinking Water Act, and testing samples is one way to do that. "Bottled water does not have to answer to the Safe Drinking Water Act," Walters said. "Bottled water answers to the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA is much less rigorous than the Safe Drinking Water Act." On the plus side, bottled water offers convenience, Walter said. "You can buy a bottle and stick it on your bike or whatever, and go. Of course you can do that with our water. You can just buy a bottle and fill it up." That's the route the sisters prefer Rochester residents would use. Local water use During the conference, a few sisters suggested that the order ask Mayo Clinic to stop serving bottled water either at the new Assisi Heights conference center or at the clinic in general. Mayo spokeswoman Dana Sparks said the annual offering by Mayo of 20-ounce water bottles for free to conference and meeting attendees, and possibly for patients, is 736,737. She said empty bottles are recycled to make drainage pipes and carpet. Olmsted Medical Center does not offer free bottles of water during conferences or meetings, said Spokesman Jeremy Salucka. Kenny said the sisters plan to learn more about water-related issues before deciding whether to ask for Mayo's participation in their goal of using tap water instead of bottled water. The 'in' crowd "I'm one that's pushing this here," said Sister Joy Barth of Rochester's Franciscan order. "To me, we're very wasteful. We feel that we need to be 'in' carrying this water around." More than half the world's population drinks bottled water, Rice said, and one in six people drink only bottled water. "Bottled-water corporations are changing the way we think about water," she said. Corporations convince local community leaders to agree to long-term contracts for water rights, Zander said. Then local residents must pay a fee, or they're barred access. "We don't go along with that, and we're trying to do everything we can to get these corporations to change the way they're doing business on the backs of the poor," Kenny said. • Want to recycle your water bottles? The Olmsted County Recycling Center is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday at 305 Silver Creek Road N.E. in Rochester. Call 287-2478.
FAIR USE NOTICE
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