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Saskatoon city councillors are considering a move that would see bottled water sales banned in some civic facilities in favour of installing more water fountains and reusable bottle refill stations.
The environment, utilities and corporate services committee endorsed a motion Monday to review where it would be cost-effective to enhance municipal water access and to prioritize those facilities for the phase-out of bottled water sales.
It comes after the Council of Canadians’ Saskatoon chapter of the Blue Community Campaign advocated for a ban, citing a need to make access to water a universal right for people in the city.
A city report filed with the committee Monday noted it wouldn’t recommend an immediate ban, because more work would be needed to ensure adequate access to water in recreation facilities and on golf courses.
“Resources are not currently available to coordinate this work,” the report notes.
“Water stations and other strategies to provide potable water to the public and staff should be in place prior to the ban to ensure that people are able to remain hydrated and healthy in civic facilities.”
Ward 7 Councillor Mairin Loewen put forward the motion to further explore a bottled water sale ban, which was approved 4-1 at the committee meeting.
She said it’s clear they need to ensure civic facilities have better access to municipal water supplies through fountains and refill stations, but it’s also evident single-use plastic containers are an issue for the city to deal with as well.
“I’m pleased to have an opportunity to talk about how we can curtail some potential use of single-use plastics in civic facilities,” she said.
Mayor Charlie Clark and councillors Troy Daves and Hilary Gough supported Loewen’s motion to further explore which buildings could phase out bottled water sales first.
Ward 1 representative Darren Hill was the only committee member to oppose the motion.
“I’m not ready to commit to telling the citizens of Saskatoon what they should drink and when they should drink it and how they should drink it,” he said.
“Our citizens are smart people, they know the impact of single-use bottled water. They can make the decision on their own.”
Hill also cited a study from the University of Vermont, which found a bottled water ban actually increased plastic bottle waste by 20 per cent as customers opted for bottled pop or juice rather than using a water fountain.
Better water access needed in civic facilities
The city report also highlighted that in order to support a ban on bottled water sales, some civic facilities would need to meet a new minimum standard in terms of how many fountains and bottle refill stations they house.
While Saskatchewan doesn’t regulate water fountain access, an international building code cited by the report recommended one water fountain per 100 people in office buildings, and one fountain per 1,000 people in recreational facilities.
By those standards, administration found a deficit of 30 fountains across city-owned facilities.
Depending on installation conditions, the city said adding those fountains/refill stations could cost anywhere from $90,000 to $450,000.
Mayor Clark and Coun. Davies both expressed a desire to see more water fountains in city arenas refitted to allow for water bottle refills as well.
“I’m not willing to take any bottled water options away yet,” Davies said.
“We haven’t even met that minimum standard to make sure people have the option to make the right choice.”
A second motion from Loewen to have administration to implement a higher minimum standard for water stations in new or renovated civic buildings received unanimous support.