News from the Take Back The Tap Campaign
Up one levelFood & Water Watch Joins with Local Community Leaders and Businesses to Launch Grand Rapids Take Back the Tap Campaign
2009-10-21
Press Release: Today, Food & Water Watch, the Wege Foundation, the Grand Rapids City Commission, Gilmore Collection restaurants, Grand Rapids Community College and Saint Mary’s Health Care joined together to launch Take Back the Tap Grand Rapids. The campaign highlights the social, economic, and environmental problems with the bottled water industry; the need for increased funding for public tap water; and the importance of celebrating and protecting Michigan’s watersheds.
Food & Water Watch Joins With Campuses Across the U.S. to Launch First Annual Campus Day of Action
2009-10-14
Press Release: Today, the national consumer advocacy group Food & Water Watch joined with 11 colleges and universities around the U.S. for the first annual Campus Day of Action. The event connects the work of students around the U.S. in their efforts to educate their campuses and communities about the benefits of choosing to drink tap water and the environmental, social, and economic drawbacks of bottled water. The Campus Day of Action is an extension of Food & Water Watch’s Take Back the Tap campaign, which works with campuses and restaurants around the country to help them replace bottled water with tap water.
Crystal Geyser’s Plans to Retreat from Oxford, Wisconsin a Victory for Local and National Activists
2009-10-08
Washington, D.C.—“Last week, activists in Oxford, Wisconsin, celebrated a significant victory when the water bottling giant Crystal Geyser announced it would cancel plans to open a bottling facility there. The proposed plant would have pumped 360,000 gallons of water a day from the Upper Fox Watershed, a practice that would have compromised Oxford’s ecosystem by negatively impacting the quality and quantity of the local water supply. The plant would also have introduced between 40 and 60 fume-emitting trucks a day to this quiet, rural area.
Bill to Prevent Privatization of Milwaukee Water Works Would Protect Vital Public Resource
2009-10-06
Press Release: “Last week, State Representative Frederick P. Kessler (12th Assembly District) introduced a bill to the Wisconsin State Assembly that would forbid the privatization of the Milwaukee Water Works. A publically controlled utility, the water works has been the subject of intense debate since October 2008 when the Milwaukee Common Council took initial steps toward leasing it to a private company as a means of alleviating the city’s budget crunch.
Activists Celebrate Nestle’s Withdrawal From McCloud, Calif.
2009-09-11
Press Release: Food & Water Watch and the McCloud Watershed Council achieved a major victory today when Nestle Waters of North America announced it would withdraw its proposal to build a bottling facility in McCloud, Calif. The news came after 6 years of intense public debate regarding the plant and its potential impact on water resources in the area. At one point the deal would have allowed Nestle to pump up to 200 million gallons of water from nearby Mt. Shasta springs- enough water for 614 typical U.S. families.
Activists in Pennsylvania Thwart Three Privatization Attempts
2009-08-28
Press Statement: Last week, the Mt. Jewett Borough Water Authority Board in Mt. Jewett, Pennsylvania announced it would deny requests from two separate private companies, American Water and Aqua America, to purchase its water system. Food & Water Watch applauds the decision of the Mt. Jewett Borough Water Authority Board to ensure both the integrity of this vital natural resource and its delivery by keeping the Mt. Jewett water system in public control.
Santa Monica Farmers’ Markets and Food & Water Watch Partner to Launch “I Love Santa Monica Water” Campaign
2009-08-26
Press Release: On the forefront of a nationwide trend to kick the bottled water habit, the City of Santa Monica and the Santa Monica Farmers’ Markets today partnered with the consumer advocacy group Food & Water Watch to launch the “I Love Santa Monica Water” campaign by providing free filtered Santa Monica tap water at special self-serve station to all market customers and vendors. Former Mayor and current Council Member Richard Bloom demonstrated his support for the program by signing a pledge on behalf of the community to support tap water and avoid bottled water. The event marked the start of the markets’ ongoing effort to offer free filtered tap water at all four of its markets.
Tides Shift Against Nestle as Company Reports Decline in Bottled Water Sales
2009-08-13
Press Release: “This week, mounting consumer backlash against Nestle became especially apparent when the mega-conglomerate reported that their sales had dipped by 2.4 percent to 5.07 billion Swiss francs ($4.69 billion) from 5.21 billion francs a year earlier. The company’s bottled water division, which packages and sells water under several brands including Arrowhead, Calistoga, Deer Park, Poland Spring, and Perrier, among others, recorded a 3.7 percent decline in volume.
Vermont Brewers’ Festival and Food & Water Watch Partner to Go Bottled Water-Free
2009-07-14
Press Release: Food & Water Watch, a national consumer advocacy organization, and the Vermont Brewers’ Festival, an event that draws a crowd of over 10,000 from around the U.S. and Canada, are partnering this weekend to go bottled water-free and serve local Vermont tap water. The consumer group advocates drinking tap water as part of its national Take Back the Tap campaign, which opposes bottled water for economic, health and environmental reasons. The event will take place at Burlington Waterfront Park in Burlington, VT, beginning at 6pm on Friday, July 17th and running through 10pm on Saturday, July 18th.
Trenton Judge Flip-Flops on Water Utility Sale
2009-07-14
Press Release: Yesterday, Superior Court Judge Linda Feinberg ruled against a public referendum pushed by local citizens to decide the fate of an embattled water utility in Trenton, New Jersey. This latest development comes just two months after Feinberg agreed to reassess an earlier decision to allow the sale of a portion of Trenton’s water utility to the private company American Water.
GAO Report Reveals Need for Increased FDA Oversight of Bottled Water
2009-07-09
Press Statement: Today, the United States Government Accountability Office released a report to the United States House of Representatives Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Committee on Energy and Commerce on the quality and safety of bottled water. Entitled Bottled Water: FDA Safety and Consumer Protections are Often Less Stringent Than Comparable EPA Protections for Tap Water, the report confirms what many in the consumer advocacy community have long known—that the bottled water industry is not subject to the same rigorous standards for testing their product and disclosing the results of that testing to the public that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is for tap water.
Michigan Citizens Score Victory in Bottled Water Battle Against Nestlé
2009-07-08
Press Statement: Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation went to court on Monday, July 6 and prevented Nestlé Waters North America from pumping even more water from an already depleted stream in Mecosta County to bottle for its Ice Mountain brand bottled water.
Food & Water Watch Applauds Effort to Close Loopholes in Great Lakes Compact
2009-06-19
Press Statement: "This week, Representative Bart Stupak (D-MI-1) introduced H. Res. 551 addressing loopholes in the Great Lakes Compact that allow for the commercial extraction of water from the lakes as long as it is placed in containers 5.7 gallons or smaller. Food & Water Watch commends Representative Stupak for this effort to prevent the commercialization of this vital natural resource and urges Congress to adopt this resolution.
Food & Water Watch Joins With Local Groups to Oppose Potential Privatization of Milwaukee’s Water System
2009-06-15
Press Release: Food & Water Watch, a national consumer advocacy group, today joined forces with the Keep Public Our Water (KPOW) coalition at a rally at City Hall to call on the Milwaukee Common Council to pass a resolution permanently suspending the proposal to lease Milwaukee’s Water Works and conclude its inquiry into privatizing the city’s water system. Faced with budget pressures, the city of Milwaukee had been considering leasing its water utility to a private company for 75 to 99 years in return for a one-time payment of up to $550 million to $600 million dollars. In addition to Food & Water Watch, Members of the KPOW coalition include AFSME Council 48; Campaign Against Violence; Midwest Environmental Advocates; Milwaukee Inner City Communities Allied for Hope; Milwaukee Renaissance; Milwaukee Riverkeeper; Water Works Local #952 and the Wisconsin League of Voters.
Lease of Milwaukee Water System Would Require Public Referendum
2009-06-10
Press Release: Washington, D.C.—Food & Water Watch, a national consumer advocacy organization, presented to Milwaukee Common Council legal precedence indicating that the proposed lease of Milwaukee’s water system to a private company must be subject to a citywide referendum. According to Food & Water Watch analysis, Wisconsin state statute section 66.0817 (4) indicates that “prior to a city consummating a proposed agreement to lease a public utility it owns, the ‘proposal shall be submitted to the electors of the municipality[,]’ to be determined be a majority.” Food & Water Watch submitted this finding today in a letter to the Milwaukee Common Council President Willie L. Hines.
Food & Water Watch and Local Activists Halt Privatization of Milwaukee Water System
2009-06-02
Press Statement: “On Friday, the Milwaukee, Wisconsin Common Council announced that it will put on hold plans to privatize the city’s drinking water system. In May, Food & Water Watch worked with a broad range of local groups to form the Keep Public Our Water (KPOW) coalition to stop the privatization. Food & Water Watch applauds the Council’s decision and urges the City of Milwaukee to permanently abandon this potential privatization.
New FDA Steps to Prevent Bacterial Contamination in Bottled Water Good, But Not Good Enough
2009-05-29
Press Statement: “This week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it is amending its bottled water regulations to implement stricter standards regarding the testing of bottled water for the e.coli bacteria. Although Food & Water Watch supports FDA’s move to protect the public from e.coli, this amendment is not enough. Despite the issuance of this rule, FDA still does not require bottled water to be tested once it has been bottled. While the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) maintains strict standards for ensuring the safety of tap water, FDA has been less stringent in its oversight of the bottled water industry.
New Food & Water Watch Study Reveals Privatized Water Systems Result in Job Losses
2009-05-20
Press Release: New analysis released today by the national consumer advocacy group Food & Water Watch finds that privatizing municipal water systems threatens jobs and negatively affects local economies. Water Privatization Threatens Workers, Consumers and Local Economies finds that while multinational corporations often claim to reduce operational costs, they do so by cutting corners, downsizing essential employees, decreasing salaries and impeding union activity.
Trenton Water Sale Reversal a Victory for Local Consumers
2009-05-19
Press Statement: “This week, Superior Court Judge Linda Feinberg agreed to reassess an earlier decision to allow the sale of a portion of Trenton, New Jersey’s water utility to American Water. The announcement is a significant victory for activists who have been fighting the privatization of Trenton’s water works and will clear the way for a citizen vote on the issue.
Water Infrastructure Financing Act Benefits Corporations at the Expense of Taxpayers
2009-05-14
Press Statement: "Today, the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works approved S.1005, the Water Infrastructure Financing Act. The bill contains language that would, for the first time, allow private wastewater utilities access to funding from the Clean Water State Revolving Funds (CWSRF). This proposed change to the law would essentially allow private wastewater utilities to benefit from public funding. The burden of this modification, however, would ultimately fall on consumers, because private wastewater utilities charge customers as much as 80% more than do their public counterparts. Under this bill, consumers would be left to subsidize these utilities through both taxes and higher user rates.