News from the Take Back The Tap Campaign

Food & Water Watch Guide Demystifies Water Quality Reports

July 1, 2008

Washington, DC—By July 1st, water customers around the country will have received water quality reports from their local utility. Faced with fine print and scary chemical names, many consumers might be tempted to just buy bottled water, even though their tap water may be every bit as clean, pure and healthy as the brands marketed as such by bottled water companies. To help consumers make informed choices about the water they drink, Food & Water Watch is releasing a guide to understanding water quality reports.

Bottled Water Jobs Low-Paying, Dangerous: Food & Water Watch Analysis Cracks Corporate Spin as Nestle Announces Plans to Take More Water in Maine

June 25, 2008

Washington, DC—Bottled water plants create few jobs, many of which are dangerous and low paying finds an analysis released today by the consumer advocacy group Food & Water Watch. The Unbottled Truth About Bottled Water Jobs examines the claims put forth by corporations when they want officials to let them open bottled water facilities in their towns and reveals the truth behind the spin.

Bottled Water Bill Moves Forward in California State Senate

June 24, 2008

Consumer organizations working to halt the privatization of California’s water resources won a small victory yesterday when the California State Senate’s Appropriations Committee voted in favor of AB 2275, a bill to enforce stricter disclosure standards for water-bottling companies. AB 2275 would require businesses licensed to bottle, vend, haul or distribute bottled water to report the source of the water as either from a well, lake, river or spring; the location of the source and whether that source is privately or publically owned. The bill will next go before the full Senate for vote.

Private Water Investment Costly for Customers, Industry Analysis Reveals

June 19, 2008

Washington DC - A future favorable to investor owned water utilities will result in higher rates, fewer consumer protections, a limited or non-existent federal safety net for low income communities and large infrastructure investments built to maximize profit, not the interest of the public, according to a Food & Water Watch analysis of investor briefs.

Food & Water Watch Launches Campaigns to Take Back the Tap in Seven Additional U.S. Cities

June 5, 2008

Washington, DC. Today 18 restaurants in seven cities across the United States will demonstrate their commitment to protecting the environment as they join Take Back the Tap, Food & Water Watch’s campaign to build support for public water and eliminate bottled water. The consumer advocacy group is working with cities across the nation to urge local restaurants and chefs to sign a pledge to switch to serving only tap water, help educate customers about the benefits of tap over bottled water, and whenever possible, install a carbonation machine to make sparkling water from the tap.

Fiji Water: Bottling the Myth of Sustainability

May 2, 2008

Press Release: Can bottled water be considered sustainable? It is according to the corporate spin-doctors at Fiji Natural Artisanal Water. The company, which already profits on taking a natural resource from an island that often suffers from drought and shipping it around the globe, is now capitalizing on the current public fervor for environmentally friendly products by labeling its water as “green.”

Take Back the Tap Organizing Fellowships

May 1, 2008

Are you a campus leader who wants to take your organization to the next level? Are you looking to play a vital role in a growing environmental and social justice movement? This rigorous Summer Fellowship Program includes a four-day training in Washington D.C. with national campaign staff and movement leaders. Gain hands-on experience in media and messaging; volunteer recruitment and management; organizational coalition-building; campaign strategy; and more.

RWE Unloads American Water on Wall Street

April 23, 2008

Press Release: Today, just seven years after boldly acquiring the largest private water utility in the United States, international utility giant RWE announced that it was getting out of the water business, issuing a public offering of American Water on Wall Street. The Germany-based company had to lower the price of the opening shares by 10%, likely due to lack of interest among investors.

Video Contest Winner for Earth Day

April 22, 2008

Press Release - After two months and over one hundred and forty entries from young activists and filmmakers across the country, the celebrity-judged I “Heart” Tap Water national video contest has a final winner just in time for Earth Day. Using a variety of media including claymation and animation, students creatively declared their love for tap water on film and pledged to rid their campuses of bottled water. 30 Rock actor Alec Baldwin was one of many judges representing the environment, film, students, and non-profit organizations to choose the first-place winner of the contest who will receive $1,500.

Clean Water Cited As Essential to a Healthy Planet

April 10, 2008

Food & Water Watch slides into number 26 as your partner for clean and safe water in the revised edition of "50 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth".

World Water Day Marks Opportunity for Commitment to Clean Water

March 21, 2008

Press Release: Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter celebrates World Water Day by urging a renewed commitment to safe and affordable public water.

Water Contaminants? Bottled Water No Help

March 10, 2008

Press Release: Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter discusses the recent reports that have revealed pharmaceutical drugs in the Nation's drinking water supply; reasons to avoid bottled water; and the need for a clean water trust fund.

Communities Reject Private Control of Local Water Resources

February 21, 2008

Press Release: Last night residents of Rosario, Vusario and Orcas Highlands communities on Orcas Island in Washington State voted to annex their private water utility to the publicly owned and operated Eastsound Sewer and Water District. They are among the growing ranks of small communities this year looking to break ties to their private water provider and instead opt for public ownership of their water services.

Students “Heart” Tap Water Video Contest

February 14, 2008

Press Release: On Valentine’s Day students from across the country will declare their love for tap water in the celebrity–judged I Heart Tap Water student video contest. It is part of Food & Water Watch’s Take Back the Tap Campaign that encourages college students and entire campuses to kick the bottled water habit and take back the tap. A panel of judges representing the environment, students, and film will choose the first–place winner of the contest, who will receive $1,500.

Americans Encouraged to Keep a Blue Covenant

February 11, 2008

Press Release: Maude Barlow, the author of a new book on the political struggle surrounding the world’s dwindling water supplies, kicked off a national speaking tour sponsored by Food & Water Watch, a national consumer group, to urge Americans to take action for water conservation, water justice, and water democracy.

Protect People in Kenya, Not Flower Farms

January 31, 2008

Press Release: Public interest organizations in Canada, Europe, Kenya, and the United States today called on the international community to help the people suffering from violence in the Lake Naivasha region of Kenya, not the global industrial flower farms that exploit the lake and its people. The groups released a new report highlighting the destructive practices of the flower farms that dominate the region.