July 29, 2008, Vancouver, B.C - Vancouver may soon join the growing list of cities that have banned bottled water.

Councilor Tim Stevenson wants to prohibit the sale of bottled water at city hall and city-operated facilities, including community and recreational centers. However, the ban would not include Vancouver residents.

Stevenson, the chair of the region's water committee, told the Toronto Star, "What we want to do is promote the water that comes out of our tap and say it's not necessary to have bottled water if you have no idea where the water comes from... It could come from Alabama for all we know."

He pointed out Vancouver obtains it's water from fresh streams, while water from the tap is not older than three days. To boost its tap water claim, Vancouver's $650 million filtration system will be in operation in 2009, removing any possibility residents could receive unclean water. Two years ago, a boil-water advisory was issued to two million residents after rain caused Vancouver stream-water to become murky.

The Canadian Bottled Water Association, which represents 85 percent of all bottled water producers in the country, said Stevenson's attack on bottled water is misguided because 95 percent of bottled water drinkers buy it to replace beverages and not water from the faucet. "It's a lifestyle change and not because they're trying to avoid municipal tap water," Elizabeth Griswold, executive director of the association, explained to the Toronto Star.

Environmentalists believe that bottled water adds to the landfill problem, Mengo McCall, director of business developments of Canadian Springs, said Vancouver's focus should be to encourage the residents to recycle or use multiple-use packaging, although McCall said bottled water is better than tap water because chlorine has been added to tap water.

The anti-bottled water campaign has been growing across the globe, especially in North America and Europe. Last month, members of the U.S. Conference of Mayors supported the resolution of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom to phase out bottled water from city meetings and offices, except during emergencies. The conference represents 250 American cities.