Absolutely end plastic bottle water use, this trash ends up everywhere and a nasty legacy for our kids. Go to PCC and refill your own resuable jugs. But really, Nickels is wrong; Seattle water may start out as the "Gold standard" but ends up sullied by all the chlorine! What a travesty, sure in the name of public health, but hey, give us a chance to have the choice or better yet, the City should give us water filters to install on our faucets to remove the nasty chlorine we don't need to drink, shower with, water our gardens with or flush our toilets! And talk about environmental impact of the chlorine industry, risk of spills etc. Next time the City sends us an offer for a free shower head to reduce water use we should revolt and ask for a free filter instead, about $30 at Home Cheapo.
mike - 16 years ago
Why not just spend all this time and money on a recycling push. Then you include eveything else that ends up in the landfill. I don't know why I voted for this clown.
Rachel - 16 years ago
I used to drink tap water, and it tasted just fine. However, starting around March of this year, it started to taste and smell like chlorine. So now I fill up a 3-gallon jug at my local Whole Foods or PCC. I wish I could rely more on tap water, but the chlorine raises some concerns. Can someone explain when and why extra chlorine was added.
And yeah, I've lost what little respect I ever had to Mayor Nickel-and-Dimes - despite being a loyal Democrat AND an avid environmentalist.
dena - 16 years ago
My husband and i thought it would be a good idea to cut down on our consumption of bottled water because of the clutter it causes in our house. so we bought reusable sports bottles and a brita pitcher for our fridge. our trash hasnt filled up as fast as it used to.
alot easier and cheaper...
Dean - 16 years ago
Oh, please. Since when did bottled water become an issue? I am a long time native with plenty of civic pride but the Mayor's rants lately embarrass me to death. This is becoming a very hostile city.
Mine to know - 16 years ago
I think it's time to get Nickels out of office. I'm so tired of his environmental rampages. I don't see him biking to the Metropolitian Market in West Seattle but yet he wants to clog our roads with more bikers. Now he wants to take away our bottled water when the city water coming through our pipes tastes horrible. Maybe he should actually check with those who live in his city before going off on these rampages to make changes.
Bob-o - 16 years ago
The market is gonna do what is most efficient for the market.
If you want to reduce the waste from bottles, then make the bottles RECYCLABLE already.
People are buying bottled water for convenience, as much as anything, and saying 'drink from the tap' isn't gonna work for most folks. The cost is not an issue to people, obviously. With bottled water, the cost isn't in the water itself, its in the bottling and distribution of the bottle. If those bottles had, say a 25 cent deposit in the price, and were recyclable, I would bet you would get a LOT of the bottles returned for recycling.
joe's still right - 16 years ago
I think we need a Committee to look into all this...
for at least five years...
only to recommend a new Committee...
How will the "Seattle Freeze" affect all this bottled water?
Will City Hall will be the first to ban all plastic water bottles, effective immediately?
Are water bottles allowed on the South Lake Union Trolley?
Let's print out a few million informational flyers and distribute via riding mower...
Joe - 16 years ago
The problem is that Nichols only seems to be able to tackle the low hanging fruit. Show me some leadership that isn't milktoast--then I'll listen.
Tony D, you on the city payroll?
Kristin - 16 years ago
I get my drinking water from the tap, but I filter it twice through Britta filters (PUR has a chemical taste) because it tastes like chlorine if I don't. And I only put it into the filter pitchers after I have run it for ten seconds to clear the accumulated rust out of the pipes since my house is of a certain age. Seattle water was good when I moved here 35 years ago, but it's not anymore.
CohoMike - 16 years ago
Mr. Mayor and others of his ilk who favor the Nanny State want to make every decision for you, from the time your head lifts off the pillow to the time you go to sleep. (They're working on sleep time, too.)
Meanwhile, our infrastructure is literally crumbling before our eyes. Anything involving the city takes forever. (It took about three months to build a street-corner curb in my area. At times there were half a dozen people leaning on their shovels.)
This crow wants to force us out of our cars and raise the sales tax to a European level, 10, 11 or 12 per cent. They don't have a clue!
Mr. Mayor, leave us alone. I'd take some basic competence over your nanny-state hectoring any day!
AVon - 16 years ago
Obesity? Mass transit issues? 'Cleanscape' (60 total employees in 3 major cities doing the evil works of street maintenance & social services), "enviro-fascist" (oohhhh those are scary words!!!), street crime, WASL, yada, yada, yada?
WOW!!! Does anyone know what the term 'red herring' means? If you don't like the man just come right out and say it. "I hate you and everything you say is without merit." Give us a break from the past decade of spiteful character assasination and partisanship. I'm ready to put that era of American political history to rest forever. If the man has a decent idea then embrace it. Not everything GWBush says is bunk. Not everything Nichols says is bunk either. Do you prefer using petroleum resources to create and transport containers for water versus getting off the couch and filling a container from your sink faucet? If so I'll let you fill my gas tank next week. If you have an issue with taste, fine. If your plumbing is bad, fine. If you are paranoid of flouride (http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/fluoridated-water) then ignore what you read on this link and embrace that paranoia. Same with chlorine (common carbon filters remove problem elements...research it). At the least make a comment about the issue at hand, or shut it.
tonyd - 16 years ago
What is the point of criticizing the mayor for tackling a "low hanging fruit" issue? His argument makes 100% sense unless you are one of those who for whatever reason does have poor water coming from your tap. Is it better he do nothing? And ask that you do nothing? He has publicly promised to the nation and the world to try to make a difference in environmental issues in whatever way he can, no matter how small, and I applaud him for that. Other measures such as the plastic bag tax have been criticized. For some people rightfully so, but others can adapt fairly easily. But these are both pretty simple lifestyle change issues compared to spending billions of dollars on some of the transportation problems our city/county/state face (it seems we are doomed to debate these endlessly). Comparing these types of issues is not really fair in my opinion. His implied request is that we get over any political and personal bias we may have toward him and/or government intervention, and think about this for a minute. Give it a try, it is so inconsequential that you begin to wonder why you ever thought it was a good idea to buy water. You will see that paying Coca Cola or Pepsi for a basic life necessity, when we live in one of the worlds least populated and more pristine environments, is down right ridiculous and plays into the hands of businesses that want to profit from a most basic human survival need. Is oxygen next?. Are you libertarian? Democrat? Republican? In the end it does not matter. Sometimes the "think globally, act locally" cliche has merit, and in this instance I believe that it does. Imagine living in one of the huge cities such as Phoenix, Las Vegas, Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, etc, etc, that draw water from the Sacramento or Colorado river systems. I don't want to be in their shoes, and I don't think you do either. Even if environmental concerns are not at the top of your personal agenda, I would think that at least we would consider the impact this has on our wallets in this economic time of uncertainty.
Perfect Water Drinkers - 16 years ago
The water our family drinks is Perfect...and yes, it's bottled. It's not just fluoride that's in the tap water, but also chlorine, and who knows what else.
By the way, can you tell us what the ph level is in "the best city water in the world?" I'll bet my 20 cases of Perfect Water that your city water is dangerously acidic. Mr. Nickels, would you like to try a case of my water? I'll even give you a free sample!
voter - 16 years ago
Mayor Nickels,
How about handling the real problems like the Viaduct, 520 replacement, crime in our streets, the fact that kids can't pass the math part of the WASL, etc.... We have enough environmentalists (including me!) tackling the abuse of our planet. We elected you to handle the city's problems, not to get publicity with impractical "solutions" like 5 cents a bag and no bottled water. Get a clue my friend, or you won't be re-elected. (And this from a voter who "likes" you!
mpn - 16 years ago
I'd drink the tap water if I could. I did when I lived in Tacoma. Seattle water has some different mineral makeup that causes me to wake up all night long to relieve myself. I need my sleep unbroken, so drink bottled water.
Dominic - 16 years ago
Pull the fluoride out of the water and ill think about tap water again. Dont give me your poison, i didnt ask for it.
Mike S - 16 years ago
I have a PUR pitcher and use that.Try a purifying pitcher..albeit it's hard to find PUR filters..and you'll taste the difference.We need to put less material in our land fills.
Peter - 16 years ago
Does Nickels ever shut up with enviro-fascist claptrap.
Next thing you know he'll want to take away our "plastic vs. paper" debate in grocery stores. Oh wait, Mayor Dictator is already trying to do that.
Joe - 16 years ago
Conspiracy Theory: The city wanted the Sonics to leave because of all the plastic containers that they use at the games... LOL!
This appeal is evidence that the Mayor's office is so ineffectual that this is the best they can do on the envionment. At least Schell bought trees.
Waterboy - 16 years ago
Maybe the Tolt and Cedar rivers have great tasting water. Unfortunately, by the time it comes out of my tap, it smells like pool water. I either have to filter it or use a water service that delivers the 5gal jugs. (I did the latter). At least the was is not only tastes good, it comes out ice cold.
Mark - 16 years ago
We drink filtered tap water and fill aluminum bottles to take out. To those who criticize Nickels for not walking the talk (with which I agree), I ask how is that an excuse for not taking steps personally and professionally to improve the environment?
Me - 16 years ago
There should be drinking water fountain around town - that will solve alot of the problems.
I drink tap water. Never spend any money on bottle water in this country.
mari kay - 16 years ago
I have always imbibed tap water. Frankly it tastes better than bottled. I have recently upgraded to buying a real water bottle though; I used to buy a large bottle of 'bottled water,' pour out the water (yes, I did) and fill it with tap and refill it until the bottle was too beat up to reuse. But finally I gave in to reports that I am ingesting nasty chemicals from the plastic in those cheap bottles so I purchased a proper water bottle.
Whatever - 16 years ago
If we cut down on bottle water, what will his best friends at Cleanscapes have left to pick up??
BILL - 16 years ago
With the obesity problem we have in this country why discourage people from drinking water? Soda pop out sells water 3 to 1 and is a big reason this country is overwight and diabetic.
John - 16 years ago
Nickles has been such a waste of space...I cannot believe I voted for this moron..
Joe's right - 16 years ago
Covert cameras installed in Cal Anderson park to catch bottled water drinkers...
Hiphop clubs also sell a lot of bottled water, better shut em down...
This Mayor is full of impurities, need to filter this clown out...somehow bottled water is the real issue? Let's figure the other stuff out before soapboxing on bottled water, buddy...Give me a break.
Shawn - 16 years ago
We added a water purifier at the source because of the high chlorine content. No bottles needed.
Joe - 16 years ago
Maybe if Seattle had a mass transit system better than Istanbul's (we don't even have Roman ruins to deal with btw) I'd give a rip what Nichols says about the envionment. It's too bad the guy has zero creditbility in my book when it comes to the envionment.
Unless you live in a third world country, bottled water is a big waste of money and resources. Buy a freakin' Brita and stop using my oil! Drink beer instead!
amd - 16 years ago
I hate buying bottled water, but I won't let my family drink the brown water that frequently comes out of our taps. City utilities have responded to our inquiries by telling us that they are "flushing the pipes." So... we buy drink the bottled stuff as a precaution. : (
Absolutely end plastic bottle water use, this trash ends up everywhere and a nasty legacy for our kids. Go to PCC and refill your own resuable jugs. But really, Nickels is wrong; Seattle water may start out as the "Gold standard" but ends up sullied by all the chlorine! What a travesty, sure in the name of public health, but hey, give us a chance to have the choice or better yet, the City should give us water filters to install on our faucets to remove the nasty chlorine we don't need to drink, shower with, water our gardens with or flush our toilets! And talk about environmental impact of the chlorine industry, risk of spills etc. Next time the City sends us an offer for a free shower head to reduce water use we should revolt and ask for a free filter instead, about $30 at Home Cheapo.
Why not just spend all this time and money on a recycling push. Then you include eveything else that ends up in the landfill. I don't know why I voted for this clown.
I used to drink tap water, and it tasted just fine. However, starting around March of this year, it started to taste and smell like chlorine. So now I fill up a 3-gallon jug at my local Whole Foods or PCC. I wish I could rely more on tap water, but the chlorine raises some concerns. Can someone explain when and why extra chlorine was added.
And yeah, I've lost what little respect I ever had to Mayor Nickel-and-Dimes - despite being a loyal Democrat AND an avid environmentalist.
My husband and i thought it would be a good idea to cut down on our consumption of bottled water because of the clutter it causes in our house. so we bought reusable sports bottles and a brita pitcher for our fridge. our trash hasnt filled up as fast as it used to.
alot easier and cheaper...
Oh, please. Since when did bottled water become an issue? I am a long time native with plenty of civic pride but the Mayor's rants lately embarrass me to death. This is becoming a very hostile city.
I think it's time to get Nickels out of office. I'm so tired of his environmental rampages. I don't see him biking to the Metropolitian Market in West Seattle but yet he wants to clog our roads with more bikers. Now he wants to take away our bottled water when the city water coming through our pipes tastes horrible. Maybe he should actually check with those who live in his city before going off on these rampages to make changes.
The market is gonna do what is most efficient for the market.
If you want to reduce the waste from bottles, then make the bottles RECYCLABLE already.
People are buying bottled water for convenience, as much as anything, and saying 'drink from the tap' isn't gonna work for most folks. The cost is not an issue to people, obviously. With bottled water, the cost isn't in the water itself, its in the bottling and distribution of the bottle. If those bottles had, say a 25 cent deposit in the price, and were recyclable, I would bet you would get a LOT of the bottles returned for recycling.
I think we need a Committee to look into all this...
for at least five years...
only to recommend a new Committee...
How will the "Seattle Freeze" affect all this bottled water?
Will City Hall will be the first to ban all plastic water bottles, effective immediately?
Are water bottles allowed on the South Lake Union Trolley?
Let's print out a few million informational flyers and distribute via riding mower...
The problem is that Nichols only seems to be able to tackle the low hanging fruit. Show me some leadership that isn't milktoast--then I'll listen.
Tony D, you on the city payroll?
I get my drinking water from the tap, but I filter it twice through Britta filters (PUR has a chemical taste) because it tastes like chlorine if I don't. And I only put it into the filter pitchers after I have run it for ten seconds to clear the accumulated rust out of the pipes since my house is of a certain age. Seattle water was good when I moved here 35 years ago, but it's not anymore.
Mr. Mayor and others of his ilk who favor the Nanny State want to make every decision for you, from the time your head lifts off the pillow to the time you go to sleep. (They're working on sleep time, too.)
Meanwhile, our infrastructure is literally crumbling before our eyes. Anything involving the city takes forever. (It took about three months to build a street-corner curb in my area. At times there were half a dozen people leaning on their shovels.)
This crow wants to force us out of our cars and raise the sales tax to a European level, 10, 11 or 12 per cent. They don't have a clue!
Mr. Mayor, leave us alone. I'd take some basic competence over your nanny-state hectoring any day!
Obesity? Mass transit issues? 'Cleanscape' (60 total employees in 3 major cities doing the evil works of street maintenance & social services), "enviro-fascist" (oohhhh those are scary words!!!), street crime, WASL, yada, yada, yada?
WOW!!! Does anyone know what the term 'red herring' means? If you don't like the man just come right out and say it. "I hate you and everything you say is without merit." Give us a break from the past decade of spiteful character assasination and partisanship. I'm ready to put that era of American political history to rest forever. If the man has a decent idea then embrace it. Not everything GWBush says is bunk. Not everything Nichols says is bunk either. Do you prefer using petroleum resources to create and transport containers for water versus getting off the couch and filling a container from your sink faucet? If so I'll let you fill my gas tank next week. If you have an issue with taste, fine. If your plumbing is bad, fine. If you are paranoid of flouride (http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/fluoridated-water) then ignore what you read on this link and embrace that paranoia. Same with chlorine (common carbon filters remove problem elements...research it). At the least make a comment about the issue at hand, or shut it.
What is the point of criticizing the mayor for tackling a "low hanging fruit" issue? His argument makes 100% sense unless you are one of those who for whatever reason does have poor water coming from your tap. Is it better he do nothing? And ask that you do nothing? He has publicly promised to the nation and the world to try to make a difference in environmental issues in whatever way he can, no matter how small, and I applaud him for that. Other measures such as the plastic bag tax have been criticized. For some people rightfully so, but others can adapt fairly easily. But these are both pretty simple lifestyle change issues compared to spending billions of dollars on some of the transportation problems our city/county/state face (it seems we are doomed to debate these endlessly). Comparing these types of issues is not really fair in my opinion. His implied request is that we get over any political and personal bias we may have toward him and/or government intervention, and think about this for a minute. Give it a try, it is so inconsequential that you begin to wonder why you ever thought it was a good idea to buy water. You will see that paying Coca Cola or Pepsi for a basic life necessity, when we live in one of the worlds least populated and more pristine environments, is down right ridiculous and plays into the hands of businesses that want to profit from a most basic human survival need. Is oxygen next?. Are you libertarian? Democrat? Republican? In the end it does not matter. Sometimes the "think globally, act locally" cliche has merit, and in this instance I believe that it does. Imagine living in one of the huge cities such as Phoenix, Las Vegas, Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, etc, etc, that draw water from the Sacramento or Colorado river systems. I don't want to be in their shoes, and I don't think you do either. Even if environmental concerns are not at the top of your personal agenda, I would think that at least we would consider the impact this has on our wallets in this economic time of uncertainty.
The water our family drinks is Perfect...and yes, it's bottled. It's not just fluoride that's in the tap water, but also chlorine, and who knows what else.
By the way, can you tell us what the ph level is in "the best city water in the world?" I'll bet my 20 cases of Perfect Water that your city water is dangerously acidic. Mr. Nickels, would you like to try a case of my water? I'll even give you a free sample!
Mayor Nickels,
How about handling the real problems like the Viaduct, 520 replacement, crime in our streets, the fact that kids can't pass the math part of the WASL, etc.... We have enough environmentalists (including me!) tackling the abuse of our planet. We elected you to handle the city's problems, not to get publicity with impractical "solutions" like 5 cents a bag and no bottled water. Get a clue my friend, or you won't be re-elected. (And this from a voter who "likes" you!
I'd drink the tap water if I could. I did when I lived in Tacoma. Seattle water has some different mineral makeup that causes me to wake up all night long to relieve myself. I need my sleep unbroken, so drink bottled water.
Pull the fluoride out of the water and ill think about tap water again. Dont give me your poison, i didnt ask for it.
I have a PUR pitcher and use that.Try a purifying pitcher..albeit it's hard to find PUR filters..and you'll taste the difference.We need to put less material in our land fills.
Does Nickels ever shut up with enviro-fascist claptrap.
Next thing you know he'll want to take away our "plastic vs. paper" debate in grocery stores. Oh wait, Mayor Dictator is already trying to do that.
Conspiracy Theory: The city wanted the Sonics to leave because of all the plastic containers that they use at the games... LOL!
This appeal is evidence that the Mayor's office is so ineffectual that this is the best they can do on the envionment. At least Schell bought trees.
Maybe the Tolt and Cedar rivers have great tasting water. Unfortunately, by the time it comes out of my tap, it smells like pool water. I either have to filter it or use a water service that delivers the 5gal jugs. (I did the latter). At least the was is not only tastes good, it comes out ice cold.
We drink filtered tap water and fill aluminum bottles to take out. To those who criticize Nickels for not walking the talk (with which I agree), I ask how is that an excuse for not taking steps personally and professionally to improve the environment?
There should be drinking water fountain around town - that will solve alot of the problems.
I drink tap water. Never spend any money on bottle water in this country.
I have always imbibed tap water. Frankly it tastes better than bottled. I have recently upgraded to buying a real water bottle though; I used to buy a large bottle of 'bottled water,' pour out the water (yes, I did) and fill it with tap and refill it until the bottle was too beat up to reuse. But finally I gave in to reports that I am ingesting nasty chemicals from the plastic in those cheap bottles so I purchased a proper water bottle.
If we cut down on bottle water, what will his best friends at Cleanscapes have left to pick up??
With the obesity problem we have in this country why discourage people from drinking water? Soda pop out sells water 3 to 1 and is a big reason this country is overwight and diabetic.
Nickles has been such a waste of space...I cannot believe I voted for this moron..
Covert cameras installed in Cal Anderson park to catch bottled water drinkers...
Hiphop clubs also sell a lot of bottled water, better shut em down...
This Mayor is full of impurities, need to filter this clown out...somehow bottled water is the real issue? Let's figure the other stuff out before soapboxing on bottled water, buddy...Give me a break.
We added a water purifier at the source because of the high chlorine content. No bottles needed.
Maybe if Seattle had a mass transit system better than Istanbul's (we don't even have Roman ruins to deal with btw) I'd give a rip what Nichols says about the envionment. It's too bad the guy has zero creditbility in my book when it comes to the envionment.
Unless you live in a third world country, bottled water is a big waste of money and resources. Buy a freakin' Brita and stop using my oil! Drink beer instead!
I hate buying bottled water, but I won't let my family drink the brown water that frequently comes out of our taps. City utilities have responded to our inquiries by telling us that they are "flushing the pipes." So... we buy drink the bottled stuff as a precaution. : (