Tapping Congress to Get Off the Bottle

Renewing our public water systems begins by turning off the spigot to bottled water

Read the full report (released February 8, 2011)

The report "Tapping Congress to Get Off the Bottle," the third in a series, outlines bottled water spending in the House of Representatives, maps current trends in public water system investments and examines the additional costs associated with water bottling. The report also discusses the connections between bottled water marketing and the erosion of confidence in tap water. Finally, it recommends the elimination of all unnecessary congressional spending on bottled water and calls for renewed investments in the nation’s public water systems.

Take action! Help set the groundwork for a bottled water free Congress by asking your representative to take the Think Outside the Bottle pledge.

Download editions on state spending here:

• Report on Economic Benefits of Public Water Investment: U.S. Conference of Mayors Water Council August 2008 Report “Local Government Investment in Municipal Water and Sewer Infrastructure: Adding Value to the National Economy:” www.stopcorporateabuse.org/USCMinvesting

• GAO Report Summary Document: U.S. Government Accountability Office July 2009 Report “Bottled Water: FDA Safety and Consumer Protections Are Often Less Stringent Than Comparable EPA Protections for Tap Water:” www.stopcorporateabuse.org/GAOsummary 

• Full GAO Report on Bottled Water Regulation: U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) July 2009 Report “Bottled Water: FDA Safety and Consumer Protections Are Often Less Stringent Than Comparable EPA Protections for Tap Water”: www.stopcorporateabuse.org/GAOreport 

• GAO Report Testimony: U.S. Government Accountability Office July 2009 Report “Bottled Water: FDA Safety and Consumer Protections Are Often Less Stringent Than Comparable EPA Protections for Tap Water:” www.stopcorporateabuse.org/GAOtestimony
  

A sampling of pro-public water policies at the local, state and national level:

• New York State’s Executive Order 18: www.stopcorporateabuse.org/NYEO18 

• San Francisco Executive Order: www.stopcorporateabuse.org/SFEO

• U.S. Conference of Mayors 2009 Resolution “Ensuring Fair and Equitable Use of and Compensation for Municipal Water Systems”, adopted at the June 2009 USCM Annual Summer Meeting in Providence, Rhode Island: www.stopcorporateabuse.org/USCM2009resolution 

• U.S. Conference of Mayors 2008 Resolution on “Supporting Municipal Water Systems,” adopted at the June 2008 USCM Annual Summer Meeting in Miami, Florida:   www.stopcorporateabuse.org/USCM2008resolution 

• U.S. Conference of Mayors 2007 Resolution “The Importance of Municipal Water,” adopted at the June 2007 USCM Annual Summer Meeting in Los Angeles, California:  www.stopcorporateabuse.org/USCM2007resolution 

Think Outside the Bottle Campaign materials:

• Getting States off the Bottle: http://www.stopcorporateabuse.org/GettingStatesOffTheBottle

• Think Outside the Bottle Campaign Public Official Action Guide: www.stopcorporateabuse.org/PublicOfficialActionGuide 

• Think Outside the Bottle Public Official Campaign Pledge:  www.stopcorporateabuse.org/TOTBpublicofficialpledge 
  

Related media coverage:

• August 2010 Governing Magazine Article titled Banning Bottled Water: www.stopcorporateabuse.org/governingmagazine

• June 2010 Atlanta Journal-Constitution article titled “Bottled Water Drips Out of Some City Budgets:” www.stopcorporeateabuse.org/AJCcities

• April 2010: CNN article titled Bottled water faces backlash: www.stopcorporateabuse.org/CNNsobw

• March 2010 Baltimore Sun article titled Study scores use of bottled water in state offices: www.stopcorporateabuse.org/GSOTBMD

• May 2009 New York Times Article on New York State Executive Order: www.stopcorporateabuse.org/PatersonNYT 

• June 2008 Business Week Article on USCM 2008 Resolution:   www.stopcorporateabuse.org/USCMBusinessWeek 

• June 2007 San Francisco Chronicle Article on San Francisco Mayor Newsom’s Executive Order: www.stopcorporateabuse.org/SFChronicleTOTB 

Allied organizations:

• Center for New American Dream Responsible Purchasing Guide: “Think Outside the Bottle: The Responsible Purchasing Guide to Bottled Water Alternatives; (Second Edition, August 2008)”: www.responsiblepurchasing.org/purchasing_guides/bottled_water/index.php

• Environmental Working Group: Bottled Water Labeling Scorecard Report, July 2009: http://www.ewg.org/health/report/bottledwater--scorecard                  and http://www.ewg.org/health/report/bottledwater-scorecard/news-release

• Story of Stuff Project:  The Story of Bottled Water, March 2010: http://www.stopcorporateabuse.org/story-of-bottled-water?r=TOTB

• Food & Water Watch: Renew America’s Water Campaign: http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/water/renew/

• National Resource Defense Council: Additional Resources on bottled water: http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/qbw.asp

• Polaris Institude: Inside the Bottle Campaign: http://www.insidethebottle.org/