Statement: Water emergency an opportunity to advance long-term solutions, overcome short-term fixes like bottled water

Statement by Leslie Samuelrich, Chief of Staff, Corporate Accountability International

May 3, 2010

This weekend’s water main break outside Boston is an unfortunate reminder of the day-to-day reality for so many across the globe, and what we stand to lose in the U.S. if we do not immediately reinvest in our public water systems. Nearly two million people in the greater Boston-area have joined the hundreds of millions worldwide that are forced to boil tap water to protect against waterborne illness. Fortunately, the boil-order in Boston is only temporary and the break promises to be repaired within the week.

However as a nation, if we don’t take swift action in guaranteeing high quality tap water for generations to come, our experience may look increasingly like those in countries that currently look to us as a model. After all, we boast near universal access to high quality tap water here in the states. But public water systems in the U.S. currently face a $22 billion annual funding gap. And though investments in public water stimulate the economy at large, overall funding has declined as bottled water marketing has eroded public confidence in the tap and the resulting political will to adequately fund public water.

For this reason, it’s important bottled water be seen for what it is – a band-aid solution to a much larger problem that it’s marketing has, in fact, helped to create. The deterioration of public water systems is good for business, as Nestlé CEO Kim Jeffery has more than once pointed out. It should be no surprise that bottled water corporations seize on crises such as the one in Boston to promote its product. Never mind that up to 40 percent of bottled water comes from the same source and is far less regulated than the tap.

We simply cannot afford to remain in this vicious cycle where we put off necessary investments with short-term solutions that serve only to set us back. Today states, including Massachusetts, spend millions of taxpayer dollars on bottled water that so clearly could be better spent bolstering our public water systems. To Massachusetts’ credit, $185 million is already being channeled into water projects. Still that figure may not be enough to address the ongoing need. That’s why we need to think outside the box and Think Outside the Bottle.

Corporate Accountability International encourages Governor Patrick to cut state spending on bottled water and to reallocate those dollars to public water systems. The organization also encourages people everywhere to join the Think Outside the Bottle campaign which is actively working to promote, protect and ensure public funding for public water systems across the country. Learn more about getting involved at: www.ThinkOutsideTheBottle.org