News from the Take Back The Tap Campaign
Up one levelFood & Water Watch to Take Back the Tap at Slow Food Nation: 50,000 People to Say No to Bottled Water at Landmark Bottled Water-Free Event
August 28, 2008
San Francisco, CA—Tomorrow, some 50,000 people will enjoy access to clean, safe tap water at Slow Food Nation thanks to Food & Water Watch. The consumer advocacy group is partnering with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission to develop accessible and visible water stations at the festival. Water stations will serve filtered municipal tap water using state of the art technology from US Pure Water/The Water Store and will display visual materials to educate attendees about San Francisco’s watershed and the campaign to promote tap water consumption.
Food & Water Watch, St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay Issue Call for Water Trust Fund
August 21, 2008
On Wednesday, Food & Water Watch joined St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay in providing 5,000 reusable drinking water bottles to City employees, banning the purchase of bottled water by city departments, and issuing a call for a federal trust fund for water infrastructure. The actions marked the City’s leadership in a nationwide effort to provide safe and affordable drinking water through increased federal funding of public water systems.
City Council, Restaurants, Launch Take Back the Tap Portland Restaurants to Give Up Bottled Water, Support Tap Water Funds Instead
August 19, 2008
Portland, ME - Today, Food & Water Watch, the City Council of Portland, Peace Action Maine, and local restaurants joined together to launch Take Back the Tap Portland. The campaign highlights the social, economic, and environmental problems with bottled water industry; the need for increased funding for public tap water; and the importance of celebrating and protecting Maine watersheds. Restaurants, government officials, and local advocacy organizations are encouraging tap water over the bottled brands as the best choice for Mainers’ health, environment, and economy.
Activists in McCloud Celebrate Withdrawal of Nestle Water Bottling Contract
August 6, 2008
San Francisco, CA--Activists in McCloud, California won a decisive victory yesterday when the bottled water giant Nestle announced it will kill its water-bottling contract with the McCloud Community Services District. Inked in 2003, 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. The bottled water giant had since scaled back the plan due to mounting public opposition led chiefly by the Protect Our Waters Coalition.
Food & Water Watch, Corporate Accountability International and Council of Canadians Endorse Global Water Crisis Film “FLOW”
August 6, 2008
EW YORK, NY – August 7, 2008 – Today, several leading United States and Canada-based advocacy groups have joined forces to support the highly anticipated U.S. theatrical release of FLOW (www.flowthefilm.com) by Oscilloscope Pictures, a distribution company founded by Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys. The announcement was timed to coincide with Nestlé Company’s (VTX: NESN) plan to release its half-year results today and follows headlines detailing recent setbacks for Nestlé Waters’ original contract with McCloud, California to build a one million square foot bottling facility. The coalition includes several organizations such as Food & Water Watch, Corporate Accountability International and the Council of Canadians.
Food & Water Watch Expands Campaign to Take Back the Tap in California
August 7, 2008
San Francisco, CA. Today six more restaurants in California 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 California and 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.
Take Back The Tap: 50,000 People Say No To Bottled Water At Slow Food Nation
August 5, 2008
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
July 31, 2008
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
July 31, 2008
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
July 29, 2008
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
July 18, 2008
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
July 10, 2008
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
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.
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