Want to know where to refill your water bottle? Metro Vancouver has developed a free "Tap Map" iPhone app that shows drinking water fountains and bottle refill stations throughout the City.

http://www.metrovancouver.org/region/tapwater/Pages/TapWaterLocations.aspx

Steven Forth has an excellent point. Banning water bottles will simply encourage the increased purchase of carbonated beverages and juices - from a public health perspective, this is not at all sustainable! Additionally, immunocompromised individuals (for example, those that are HIV+) require access to guaranteed clean water and, excellent as it is, our tap water presents a small but avoidable risk to these individuals. Focus should be geared toward increasing fountains as well as positive reinforcement for/encouragement of reusable bottles.

Even if banning water bottles in restaurants and such can't be done, they should be heavily taxed (like at least 50 cents per bottle). However, they can easily be banned in all government buildings.

Why not create a 'water refill station' program that local businesses and public spaces could sign up for and have some kind of easily recognizable logo added to their window/door/sign. People would be welcome to refill their reusable water bottles using tap water at any of these places. I think I heard about New York implementing something like this a while back.

Note: eeko's idea "Build more public water fountains and help reduce the distribution of water bottles" has been merged with this one.

If you are interested in seeing one of the City's Mobile Drinking Fountains, come to our Open House in the Woodward's Atrium from 4-7 on Friday, October 1st.

http://www.talkgreentous.ca/pitch2010.php

Banning or placing an eco tax on plastic bottled water should be a priority for the City. A stainless steel water bottle costs less than $5 in this City. It should be the norm for everyone to carry their own water from home.

It should be a basic human right to have drinking water within a 15-30 walk - so please keep up the good work with increasing the fountains around the City.

Keep the water fountains coming. Those new water bottle stations at Britannia, and at Broadway and Commercial make getting around the city better. Please keep adding them to more neighbourhoods!

This comment and picture was submitted by @hummingbird604 via twitter
"Dear @cityofvancouver @greenestcity please follow UBC's example and install well-designed water fountains. Luv, R" http://twitpic.com/2pcbps

I agree with Jim. It's the same case in Zürich. Why not in Vancouver?

This is a good idea! In Rome there are public fountains EVERYWHERE for people to fill up their water bottles and for just having a refreshing drink of something. Imagine no more bottled water in a city that has such an abundant amount of water already, it sounds great!

people! the whole point to the ban is that you can obtain clean drinking water in Vancouver everywhere. you don't need to waste precious resources to produce something that you can get anywhere.

Tax maybe, but I am strongly opposed to bans. A resilient and sustainable society requires lots of options. And why pick on water? All bottles should carry higher tax, unless your goal is to encourage more people to drink pop.

Yes. Bottled water is a ridiculous waste. The majority of major brands are just filtered tap water anyways. I do not know the legal ability of the city to ban them, but I think all efforts should be made to minimize them. Installing more water fountains in business and public places would be a great step. A 25 cent tax like proposed for plastic bags may also be enough to change people's minds.

NOTE: wendy's idea "no more plastic one use water bottles in vancouver - our water is great" has been merged with this one.

ban plastic one use water bottles - all should have reusable drink container - if it has glass interior it can be used for all drinks with just a wash - water, juice, tea, coffee - a Libre tea glass is perfect - thermal, glass interior and polycarbonate exterior and a removeable tea filter for truly healthy and ecofriendly loose leaf tea

I think banning bottled water is a great idea. It's a completely unnecessary, wasteful luxury. People might actually have to resort to *gasp* using tap water. We're incredibly fortunate to have water everywhere. Just go to any public bathroom and fill up your reusable bottle. You do have a reusable bottle, don't you?

Banning bottled water doesn't seem logical - where there is an absence of choice (eg. no functioning water fountain), one has to purchase a drink. Banning bottled water results in people puchasing other bottled beverages.

However, it might be feasible to modify the building bylaw to change the proportion of water fountains per occupant, particularly in commercial buildings.

Modifying business licences for restaurants and cafes to require them to provide free tap water to those who provide their own water containers might also be feasible.

Changing the policy for parks to require a certain number of water fountains per area of parkland and/or meter of walking trail is also logical. It is very frustrating to walk from Granville Island to Stanley Park along the water front, and discover the only water fountain visible doesn't work. Providing better signage to indicate where fountains are located is helpful too.

There is no sense in this jurisdiction fetter fraud. Whenever there is a need to do the right thing there is no jurisdiction while there is always jurisdiction to do the wrong stupid or the ecotoxic thing. That is a manifestation of corrupt governing. Until we get some honesty we are doomed to suffer in every way.

Australian town Bundanoon has banned bottled water since July 2009 http://bit.ly/Bundanoon Why can't Vancouver?