Mayor Rybak Joins National Campaign for Public Water
Contact: Jeremy Hanson, 612-673-2785 (office) or 612-919-8261 (mobile)
331 City Hall
350 South 5th Street
Minneapolis, MN 55415-1300
“Think Outside the Bottle Campaign” Promotes Tap Water Over Bottled Water
October 10, 2007 (MINNEAPOLIS) -- Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak today became one of the first mayors in America to join a new national campaign promoting tap water over bottled water, called Think Outside The Bottle. Mayor Rybak and campaign organizers hope the effort will raise awareness of the benefits of public water and encourage more people to use less bottled water.
“As the nation begins to realize that you can drink great water out of your tap instead of buying it in plastic bottles that clog our landfills, people in Minneapolis can brag about having some of the best public drinking water in the country,” Rybak said. “Our water tops taste tests, provides clean water for the region and makes people think twice before paying money to buy water in a plastic bottle.”
Since 2001 the City of Minneapolis has invested $140 million dollars to make its drinking water safer and as a result now has a state-of-the art ultra-filtration water system that provides water not only for Minneapolis, but for many surrounding cities as well. Mayor Rybak’s 2008 city budget proposes $67 million more for public water facilities and plans to confidently let the public know about the cleanliness and safety of our water.
“Minneapolis is called the City of Lakes, but we really are the City of Waters,” Mayor Rybak said. “Public water is a vitally important resource for Minneapolis to protect. By joining the Think Outside the Bottle campaign, I and other Minnesotans are pledging to do our part by choosing to drink safe, clean, cheap water right out of the tap.”
Buoyed by Rybak and other mayors, the U.S. Conference of Mayors has pledged to support municipal water systems and study the amount of waste caused by bottled water. Events around the country are calling on people to choose public tap water over bottled water. For more information about the campaign, visit www.ThinkOutsideTheBottle.org.
For more information about the City of Minneapolis’ water, visit www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/water.