Feedback from the Bottlemania Event!

Elizabeth Royte, author of
Bottlemania: How Water Went on Sale and Why We Bought It

Bottlemania Event

On Thursday, April 2, 2009, author Elizabeth Royte joined municipal water experts and a panel of representatives from Ashland's Community Emergency Response Team, Southern Oregon University and Oregon Shakespeare Festival, to talk about water issues as part of the SOU School of Business Speakers Series.


An overflow crowd of students, professors and community members listened to water reports that addressed water quality in the Rogue Valley. We learned that we have excellent, high-quality tap water in our area. The panel shared their perspectives on how bottled water purchasing and use affects their organizations. Then the room divided into break out groups that brainstormed various solutions to reduce and/or eliminate bottled water use in our community. The following are the highlights of the ideas participants generated.


Ways to Store an Emergency Water Supply


  • 55 Gallon Food Grade Drums
  • Recycled plastic ones from wineries
  • Stainless steel kegs from beer breweries
  • Lined steel containers
  • Stainless steel drums that rotate through by also providing water at public events
  • 300 or 500 gallon plastic reservoir
  • 7.5 gallon plastic jugs
  • City water stores in apple juice jugs
  • Glass bottles with some provision to hold in place in case of earthquake
  • Use of grapefruit seed extract for purification if needed

Ideas for Ways to Hydrate Event Attendees


The following brainstorm had to do with eliminating bottled water use at events like Oregon Shakespeare Festival performances, SOU Commencement, Ashland High School Commencement, sports events, Earth Day, 4th of July and company or family picnics.


  • Instead of giving single use water bottles away, consider giving durable water bottles as a memento of the event
  • Give a ticket discount for returns
  • Encourage bringing your own cup
  • Sell reusable containers rather than single use bottles
  • Set up portable water fountains
  • Provide water with the big water reservoir from Bellview Grange
  • Set up a water spray mister to cool people down in the heat
  • Have a bottle recycler on site and donate the deposits to a non profit

Ideas for Ways Cities Can Decrease Bottled Water Usage


  • Provide more public water fountains and have two spigots, one for drinking from and one to refill bottles
  • Provide water dispersion containers throughout community
  • Install electric water coolers
  • Levy extra deposits on water bottles to increase recycling
  • Create a major media campaign with catchy phrases to eliminate and illuminate the issues around sing use bottles used on posters and in television and radio spots
  • Create a place to shred and compost corn based water bottles
  • Create an ongoing education campaign on ways to avoid bottled water
  • Educate and make allowances for people that cannot tolerate fluoridated water
  • Allow fluoridation of city water
  • Don't fluoridate city water
  • Protect city water from pesticide contamination with stiff regulations
  • Shift attitudes on water use to encourage conservation
  • Price bottled water to reflect the actual cost (include environmental costs)
  • Have rainwater catchment/retention systems
  • Provide water refilling stations throughout the city to fill up personal water bottles
  • Run public education events that include taste tests, information about how to change the bottled water habit and market the purity of municipal water vs. bottled water
  • Relocate the CERT centers to have access to both electricity and local tap water

Ideas to Improve Drinking Water on the SOU Campus


  • Place water dispensers next to soda machines
  • Install filters on drinking water supplies in residence halls
  • Replace galvanized steel piping in campus buildings
  • Publicize sustainability efforts at SOU

Excellent Websites on These Issues