San Francisco City Hall Swapping Out Bottled Water For Tap Under New Pilot Program
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – San Francisco city officials and employees will no longer be sipping bottled water, but instead tap water provided by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission under a new pilot program announced Thursday.
The program aims to install new reusable five-gallon containers at nine departments with offices within City Hall, filled with tap water from the city's water system.
San Francisco water is a blend of water supplies collected from the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite National Park, protected watersheds in Alameda and San Mateo counties and groundwater from the city's aquifer.
City officials previously drank bottled water supplied by Nestle Global.
"We offer delicious, fresh-tasting water to more than 2.7 million customers—and now it is time we expand our services to City Hall," SFPUC General Manager Harlan Kelly said in a statement.
"With our product, you always know where the water is coming from and how it has been tested for quality and safety. It makes perfect sense for city agencies to be drinking water managed and produced by the city," he said.
San Francisco's tap water is tested by the SFPUC more than 100,000 times a year and is regulated by state and federal health agencies.
The pilot program is expected to expand within the next few months to not only the Board of Supervisors' offices, but to other departments outside of City Hall as well, according to SFPUC officials.
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