Should Water Bottles Be Banned in Westford?
A discussion on that topic is coming to town this weekend, but now we want your take.
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A few miles away in Concord, the town has banned the sale of all bottled water, and a group of high school students in Arlington has brought an article to Town Meeting this spring proposing the same thing there as well.
While there's currently no push for a comparable warrant article here in Westford that we're aware of, there is a discussion this Friday night at the First Parish Church United hosted by Sustainable Westford on the subject, and we wanted your take in the meantime.
Should Westford ban bottled water? Do you feel that the water from Westford's taps is clean enough to drink? Even if you don't live near the impacted area in North Graniteville, did the perchlorate issue impact your views on Westford's water? Is water a shared resource for everyone or something that can be privatized?
If you support a ban, what would take the place of bottled water, particularly given the obesity epidemic in this country?
If you oppose a ban, what is your take on the costs of plastic bottled water bottles?
Plenty to discuss. More information on Friday night, but if you can't make it there, let us know your thoughts in the comments.
JOC
6:49 pm on Thursday, March 14, 2013
The water in Westford has a chlorine taste and smell. It was good years ago, but not now. I buy bottled water for cooking and dinking. Leave it alone.
Mike
8:40 am on Friday, March 15, 2013
Boiling water expels most chlorine, which has far less of a negative health impact than dysentery.
Amber B.
7:19 pm on Thursday, March 14, 2013
Agreed. Unless they stop fluoridating the town water, this is a no-go for me.
Townie
7:26 pm on Thursday, March 14, 2013
Seems something should get banned, if not unnecessary guns or water bottles, what next? Looks like the State Court ruled towns CANT ban medical dope shops so it won't be that,
TK
10:11 pm on Thursday, March 14, 2013
If there are people in Westford who concerned about fluoride or chlorine in their tap water, why nobody mentions BPA (and numerous other chemicals) that leak into bottled water from plastic? If the main reason to buy bottled water is fluoride/chlorine/perchlorate, get reverse osmosis water filter and stop this plastic nightmare (buying, carrying it home, recycling, etc). I do not buy bottled water anymore, but I do not think that we should ban it.
R Gagnon
7:34 am on Friday, March 15, 2013
The reverse osmosis water filters are cost prohibitive. For $2.50/week I bring home all the drinking water we need.
Andrew Sylvia
10:18 pm on Thursday, March 14, 2013
Comments have been deleted due to violations of the terms of use.
Amber B.
10:44 pm on Thursday, March 14, 2013
Oh good, Andrew. I was about fire a shot across his bow about the lack of adjectives in his repertoire making that moniker more apropos directed back at himself. My autistic 9 year old has a more extensive vocabulary.
Andrew Sylvia
11:19 pm on Thursday, March 14, 2013
Happy to oblige. That word in my opinion "promotes racism, bigotry, hatred or physical harm of any kind against any group or individual" and was definitely unneeded in that context (or for that matter, just about any context).
Outside of that word, the comment was fine.
Amber B.
10:46 pm on Thursday, March 14, 2013
BPA free plastic bottles, FTW.
Hugh MacDonald
4:52 am on Friday, March 15, 2013
I propose we ban all bans.
Andrew Sylvia
7:50 am on Friday, March 15, 2013
But then would someone propose to ban the ban ban?
Amber B.
3:35 pm on Saturday, March 16, 2013
Probably. I propose we ban the banning of bans on bans.
Mike
6:31 am on Friday, March 15, 2013
The common recyclable bottled water u buy in convenience stores (Poland Spring, Dasani etc.) has no BPA. It is more commonly found in the re-useable bottles...though this is fortunately becoming less common.
TK
8:45 pm on Friday, March 15, 2013
International Bottle Water Association:" Many bottled water companies use polycarbonate plastic for their 3- and 5-gallon water cooler bottles. It is not, however, used in any retail-sized PET bottled water containers." Wikipedia:" Polyethylene terephthalate ... commonly abbreviated PET ... Safety: Commentary published in Environmental Health Perspectives in April 2010 suggested that PET might yield endocrine disruptors under conditions of common use and recommended research on this topic. Proposed mechanisms include leaching of phthalates as well as leaching of antimony."
R Gagnon
7:30 am on Friday, March 15, 2013
The only member of our household who drinks Westford water is the dog. Whenever I fill her bowl it smells like clorine. I would be against a ban on water bottles even if the town were capable of delivering drinkable water to the tap. But it doesn't matter to me. I don't shop in Westford.
Mike
8:23 am on Friday, March 15, 2013
Rich, I'm puzzled: if you carry such a grudge against the town, its policies, its employees, its business owners, and its residents, then why are you still here?
If I was half as aggrieved as you seem to be based on your posts, I would have been long gone. What compelling reason is there for you to stay? And honestly, I'm not asking to be nasty; I'm genuinely curious. What's the overriding appeal of Westford for you?
KarenL
6:19 pm on Friday, March 15, 2013
We all drink town water here. I like Westford's water ;). I bring it to work with me because Lexington's tap water is truly awful tasting. I buy probably 4-6 bottles of water a month, for convenience sake, and then refill them with tap water. A ban would be silly. Those who like tap water would continue to drink it, those who want bottled water would buy it out of town (which most probably already do). Banning anything is pretty silly, in general.
BTW, the best way to get rid of chlorine is just to leave water out in an open container, chlorine off gasses fairly quickly. That's what we do for fish and some invertebrates who can't handle any chlorine...leave it out for 24 hours, then it is safe even for the super sensitive.
Wayne Wagner
12:41 am on Saturday, March 16, 2013
I don't sense chlorine in the water here. I know I am not desensitized to it... strange...
Hugh MacDonald
1:43 pm on Saturday, March 16, 2013
I think we should pursue a ban on decorative pillows. I can't stand them.
Jesse James
9:44 pm on Saturday, March 16, 2013
Rest assured that the Town Manager ($600) and Fire Chief ($1,000) have allocated funds both in their FY13 and FY14 budgets for the purchase of bottled water.
May be someone will ask at the 2013 ATM, what is the perceived problem with the water provided by the Westford Water Department.