Boiling Down the Numbers

By Samantha Levine-Neudel
May 4th, 2010

Thankfully, the water ban has been officially lifted for eastern Massachusetts.

Now that this ‘disaster’ is behind us, I am left with two thoughts: 1) Wow, I use a lot of water every day! 2) Why is the state wasting so much money on bottled water when the government has so many safety measures and checks in place to keep us safe?

Actually seeing the amount of water it takes to clean vegetables, or wash your hands, or brush your teeth is amazing. Even the most water conscious of us uses more gallons of water a day than we realize. (The USGS estimates 80-100 gallons a day)  Check out the US Geological Survey to see how much water you use a day.  I will definitely start doing more to conserve my water use from this exercise. Hopefully, many of our state agencies will do the same.

On April 2^nd, Garrett Quinn reported for Pioneer Institute Investigates that

‘In 2009 the Commonwealth spent nearly $930,000 on bottled water services across government agencies and departments ’

(this story was then updated and reprinted in the Boston Globe yesterday)

This number is astronomical. Over the past few days we have seen the MWRA find the problem, institute a safe backup plan, fix the problem, and properly check the water. As a community we are expected to trust that the MWRA would not allow us to use the water if it were not safe. This begs the question, If tap water is safe for the residents of Massachusetts, why are state agencies spending $930,000 on bottled water?’