St. Louis Post-Dispatch - City struggles to phase out bottled water

By Jake Wagman

ST. LOUIS — When Mayor Francis Slay directed city departments to stop using public money to buy bottled water, it was a toast to the city's tap supply, named the best-tasting city water in America.

The move, Slay said in August, would save thousands of dollars and reduce waste.

Four months later, though, bottled water is hardly a scarce commodity at City Hall. Just visit one of the building's vending machines. Or even the cafeteria.

Despite the mayor's order, city officials continue to buy bottled water — some paying out of their own pockets, others with city money.

Part of the reason: Unlike city tap water, the mayor's control over other city departments is a tad murky. St. Louis' fractured government structure means that many City Hall departments are out of the mayor's reach, including the Board of Aldermen and the Police Department. In some cases, his "order" is more a suggestion.

"We're trying to change a mind-set, which is really tough to do," said Tim Embree, the mayor's aide on environmental issues. "This is just our first step."

Even so, Embree said the city still expects to save more than $20,000 by cutting bottled water from the budget.

The push, Embree said, sprang from city employees seeking to build on St. Louis' victory at a June 2007 water quality contest sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. (Samples were judged on taste, clarity and aroma.)

Bottled water bans have become increasingly popular around the U.S. as mayors seek to make government more eco-friendly and cut costs in a lean economy. San Francisco, Seattle and Providence, R.I., have issued similar directives, hoping to reduce the waste created by all the used plastic bottles.

And it isn't just cities that are turning to the tap.
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In St. Louis, several local restaurants have signed on to an effort to cut back on bottled water. Beginning this month, Washington University will stop selling bottled water on campus.

"It goes beyond the quantity of bottled water consumed," said Deborah Lapidus, an organizer with the national Think Outside the Bottle campaign, based in Boston. "When mayor's offices use tax dollars to buy bottled water, it sends the wrong signal about the quality of our tap water."

But even if the idea has spread around the country and region, it has not reached all of city government. Vending machines on the second and fourth floor of City Hall — including one down the hall from the mayor's office — offer bottled water.

Bottled water also is available in the basement cafeteria, operated by the catering arm of Annie Malone Children & Family Service Center.

"To be totally honest — and this might not be a great thing — I wasn't aware of it," Linda Nance, who manages food service for Annie Malone, said of the mayor's order. "That one just passed me by."

Nance said, for now at least, she plans to continue selling bottled water, though it isn't an especially big seller.

In November, the city's minority-business assistance office, which is run out of Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, spent $49 on bottled water for a series of workshops at Harris-Stowe State University.

"It's not like we can have it catered to bring in glasses of water," airport spokesman Jeff Lea said.

Lea said the purchase was permissible because the water was for conference participants — Slay's order applies only to water for "employee consumption."

Agencies that are not under direct control of the mayor, even if they use city money, also are exempt from Slay's bottle embargo.

The Police Department — which is run by a state board but funded by St. Louis taxpayers — recently had a $795 bottled water bill.

Department spokesperson Erica Van Ross said the water is reserved for personnel working special details, such as security or traffic control, often during the summer.

"They are officers who have to be in a fixed position for many hours," she said. "The least we can do is give them something to drink."

Still, some city departments have eschewed bottled water, even if they are not bound by the mayor's ban.

"This office has no contract for bottled water, unless you consider the occasional trip to Target for a new Brita filter," said St. Louis Public Administrator Gerard Nester, an elected court official.

Some city departments, such as the sheriff, municipal court and Board of Aldermen, paid to service refillable office water coolers.

While the coolers don't meet the definition of the "single serving" banned by Slay, the perk could soon evaporate as officials look for new ways to save money in what promises to be an austere fiscal year.

"Coffee and water are things that can be cut," said John Farrell, a spokesman for the comptroller's office, which has spent more than $3,000 on water coolers in each of the past two years. "Little things add up to a lot."

Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce says her office spends about $100 a year on bottled water, mostly for the annual neighborhood "night out" celebration or for trial witnesses who could put themselves in danger by leaving the courtroom.

Joyce and some staff members, she said, also pool their own money to have a private stock of bottled water in the office.

She drinks one or two a day, Joyce said, but does try to minimize the environmental impact.

"We recycle," Joyce said.

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