Bottle Your Own Water
Save Money, Save the Planet!
Our Ridgewood Water Department is one of the best, it is owned by us, responsible only to us, and there are no corporate pressures to raise rates or cut corners – ever! Any resident or group can ask to tour the water department and to see exactly how our water arrives at our homes.
We also know that because of all the chemicals that leach even into our sole-source aquifer, mitigating chemicals must be added by law (and safety). One of the mitigating agents, bleach, is added – and depending on how far away you live from the well – you can either smell or taste it.
Residents then turn to bottled water, which is neither tested as thoroughly as our municipal system, but is also encased in plastic, causing more problems. Only a small percentage of plastic water bottles are recycled. Instead, they are thrown into our parks, our streets, our beaches – or as garbage – they last for hundreds of years.
Solution: As the Director of water has said, “If you put the water from your tap in a glass container, and leave it for a couple of hours, it tastes great! Any residual smell is gone. If you refrigerate it, the taste is even better!”
Why not drink safe water and save the planet at the same time?
• Use a glass container (pitcher, glass bottle, etc).
• Pour water from the tap.
• Refrigerate or leave on the counter.
• Wait a few hours and viola! Delicious water.
Did you know that Belmar Water is actually our water (under a 100+ year old arrangement), taken from the same aquifer? You are paying for water that could come from your tap if you just left it in the air for a couple of hours.
What you are purchasing in the stores is water taken from public aquifers. It is not required to be tested to the degree with which municipal systems are. Our water is tested according to the most stringent requirements.
You could even label your container, and collect the money you save by NOT buying water (in plastic containers)! What a great incentive to start up a small, homegrown “give back” fund, and consider donating your savings to a worthy cause, like the Food Bank!
"If you put the water from your tap in a glass container, and leave it for a couple of hours, it tastes great! Any residual smell is gone. If you refrigerate it, the taste is even better!"
Eleanor Gruber is a member of the Village of Ridgewood’s Green Team Advisory Committee.
The Ridgewood Green Team was established as a permanent advisory committee to the Village Council via Ordinance No. 3423 in July 2014. The Green Team manages the Village’s submissions to Sustainable Jersey in order to achieve and maintain the municipality’s sustainability certification. The committee functions as a subcommittee of the Ridgewood Environmental Advisory Committee (REAC),One third of the Green Team members are also REAC members.The Green Team also helps REAC identify grant opportunities through Sustainable Jersey to further support its mission and objectives.
The Green Team and REAC hold joint meetings on the 3rd Tuesday of each month at 7:45 PM in the Garden Room. Meetings are open to the public.
To contact the group, email [email protected]
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