New Haven official wants to end bottled water use

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — A New Haven alderman wants the city to kick its $32,000-per-year bottled water habit.

Alderman Justin Elicker, with help Yale University's Think Outside the Bottle student group, wants to stop using public funds to buy bottled water for municipal and school district needs.

Elicker tells The New Haven Register there are many reasons to stop buying bottled water, from environmental to economic to health-related. He says the city's tap water is cheaper and tested regularly and if it's good enough for most residents of the city, it is good enough for municipal employees.

Ten other aldermen are supporting the proposal.

He says the city spent nearly $32,000 to buy 5-gallon jugs of bottled water in the 2010 fiscal year. Using tap water instead would have cost the city just $160.

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Information from: New Haven Register, http://www.nhregister.com