The Board of Supervisors finds that:
(a) The City and County of San Francisco has a longstanding commitment to environmental sustainability through the prohibition of bottled water purchases by the San Francisco City and County Government, as instructed by Executive Directive 07-07.
(b) The Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System operated by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission delivers pristine drinking water, which is stored in the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, meets or exceeds all federal and state criteria for drinking water quality, and is tested over 100,000 times per year.
(c) Bottled water is bad for the environment. More than one billion water bottles end up in California's trash each year – taking up valuable landfill space, leaking toxic chemicals such as phalates into the ground water, and taking 1,000 years to degrade. It takes an estimated 2,000 times more energy to produce bottled water than it does to produce an equivalent amount of tap water. Bottled water adds to greenhouse gas emissions because high amounts of oil are used to manufacture the plastic bottles, in addition to the emissions resulting from the transportation of the bottles to stores.
(d) Bottled water is expensive. Americans spent $10.6 billion on bottled water in 2009 and paid up to 1,000 times the cost of tap water.
(e) Bottled water is potentially a health hazard. A growing number of scientific studies are pointing to the harmful effects of chemicals in the plastic that can leach into the water and be consumed. Further, most branded bottled water companies do not disclose their water sources, treatment methods or contaminants found in the water.
(f) The City and County of San Francisco is dedicated to being a good environmental steward by promoting water conservation efforts and educating residents about the environmental, economic, and health benefits of drinking tap water.