A councillor is hoping some esthetic changes to municipal drinking water will help steer people away from bottled water.
Coun. Tim Lauer introduced a motion during Monday’s council committee meeting that asks staff to report back with “an analysis of possible methods that the City of Orillia could pursue to enhance the taste and odour of the water supply.”
Lauer began with a “mea culpa.”
“I am not adopting a holier-than-thou attitude and I consider myself part of the problem when it comes to managing plastic,” he said.
However, he added, “bottles are becoming increasingly hard to deal with, to manage.”
“If you want to counteract the use of bottled water, you need to have an attractive alternative,” he said.
It wouldn’t be the first time the city tried to make the water taste better. Lauer noted there was an issue 20 years ago with “algae taste” in the water. The city took steps to address it, including adding charcoal filters.
When he goes to grocery stores, the demand for bottled water is obvious, with large sections dedicated to the product.
“There’s a lot of opportunity here, I believe, that we could provide some adequate competition,” Lauer said.
Council committee approved the motion. Staff will report back later.
