By Angela Liu
September 29, 2008

Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (NJ), Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Transportation Safety, Infrastructure Security, and Water Quality of the Environment and Public Works Committee, focused September 10 on environmental impacts of bottled water and the public’s right to know the origin and quality of the bottled water they are drinking.

In his opening statement, Lautenberg stated that bottled water serves important purposes, especially for emergencies and when basic public utilities are unavailable. Lautenberg said that many Americans are not aware that almost 40 percent of bottled water on the market is filtered tap water. U.S. tap water is among the cleanest and safest in the world, Lautenberg noted, citing a 2008 U.S. Conference of Mayors resolution that encourages the use of tap water in America’s cities. Lautenberg introduced the Bottled Water Right to Know Act, to provide consumers information about where their bottled water comes from and the quality of the water they are drinking.

Senator James M. Inhofe (OK) applauded the bottled water industry’s service to our country in recent natural disasters. Further, Inhofe raised the issue of increasing production of disposable goods (including bottled water) and its impact on municipal waste treatment facilities. As a former mayor, Inhofe said he sympathized with the concerns of increased pressures on the holding capacity of the country’s municipal waste facilities, and need to become more conscious of what is bought and tossed into garbage cans. He said that the hearing will clarify the status of bottled water.

Commissioner Emily Lloyd of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP) reported the New York City’s effort on protecting the municipal water system. Last year, New York City was granted a ten-year renewal of the EPA Filtration Avoidance Determination (FAD) for the Catskill/Delaware watershed. Watershed protection is one of the imperatives of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s PlanNYC2030, the blueprint for making New York City “greener and greater.” Last year, NYDEP, in conjunction with the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene conducted a public health awareness campaign on the benefits of drinking tap water. In June, Bloomberg cosponsored a resolution of the U.S. Conference of Mayors supporting municipal water systems. New York City hopes the resolution will erode the misperception that public water supplies are somehow less safe and clean than commercial bottled water as the city aggressively promotes tap water to raise citizens’ awareness of the importance and quality of this resource.

Other witnesses testifying at the hearing included Mae Wu, Staff Attorney, Health and Environment Program, National Resources Defense Council; Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director, Food and Water Watch; Dr. Stephen Edberg, Professor, Laboratory Medicine and Internal Medicine and Chemical Engineering, Yale University School of Medicine; and Joseph Doss, President and CEO, International Bottled Water Association.