News from the Take Back The Tap Campaign
Up one levelTake Back The Tap: 50,000 People Say No To Bottled Water At Slow Food Nation
2008-08-06
Press Release: According to a new guide released by Food & Water Watch, event organizers, whether throwing garden parties, conferences, or citywide street festivals, can join the growing movement against bottled water. The national consumer advocacy group will provide tap water for the inaugural Slow Food Nation event over Labor Day weekend.
California Department of Public Health Protects Bottled Water Corporations Instead of Consumers By Opposing “Right to Know” Legislation
2008-07-31
San Francisco, CA--Despite the increasing importance of efficient water management the California Department of Public Health has labeled the amount of water commercially bottled in California as a “trade secret.” In a recent letter from the department to Assembly member Felipe Fuentes, author of Assembly Bill 2275, the department argues that the bill’s requirement that bottled water facilities disclose the volume of water bottled would reveal “confidential business information.”
International Coalition Emerges to Protect Great Lakes Waters Against Private Exploitation
2008-07-31
Chicago, IL – Yesterday the U.S Congress’s House Judiciary Committee approved the Great Lakes Compact, an agreement between the 8 states of the Great Lakes Basin, which lays out takings guidelines from major water supplies in that area for use by large scale projects and private enterprise. Yet many of the exceptions outlined in the Compact are bad for consumers and the environment. A coalition between Food & Water Watch and the Council of Canadians has issued a set of recommendations in response to the Compact to ensure that water remains a public resource and is not subject to the exploitation of profit-hungry corporations.
Food & Water Watch and Riverkeeper Launch Take Back the Tap - New York
2008-07-29
Press Release: Food & Water Watch and Riverkeeper kicked off their Take Back the Tap – New York campaign at the Bowery Hotel’s Gemma. In honor of Restaurant Week, the two partner organizations are calling on New York restaurants to celebrate and support New York’s world famous tap water by taking bottled water off their menus.
The People: 1; Nestle: 1: Activists Save Water From Corporate Control in Wells, Maine as Neighbors in Rangeley Lose Out To Extraction Site
2008-07-18
Water activists seized a decisive victory yesterday when trustees of the Kennebunk-Kennebunkport-Wells Water District voted to indefinitely table action on a thirty year agreement with Nestle to allow the company to extract local water for Poland Springs water in Wells, Maine. Nestle announced its plan to forge a contract with the water district last month to take between 250,000 to 500,000 gallons of water a day from the town’s fragile ecosystem. Food & Water Watch allied with Defending Water in Maine and other local organizations to protest the contract and Nestle’s presence in Maine.
Backlash Against Bottled Water Gains Momentum: Food & Water Watch To Coordinate Access to Tap Water at Slow Food Nation
2008-07-11
Washington, DC-- Food & Water Watch is partnering with sustainable food activists to ensure access to safe, clean, free tap water at the upcoming Slow Food Nation festival Labor Day weekend in San Francisco, California. The event is one of many in a growing movement to reject bottled water. The consumer advocacy group will coordinate the installation and operation of five tap water stations at the event and will sell patrons re-usable, environmentally friendly stainless steal canteens. It will also produce a how-to guide for event planners interesting in catering bottled-water free events.
Food & Water Watch Guide Demystifies Water Quality Reports
2008-07-01
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
2008-06-25
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
2008-06-24
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
2008-06-19
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
2008-06-05
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
2008-05-05
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
2008-05-02
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
2008-04-23
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
2008-04-22
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
2008-04-10
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
2008-03-21
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
2008-03-10
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
2008-02-20
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
2008-02-14
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.