A city plan to phase out sales of bottled water is all wet, says a Pacific National Exhibition official.
"Drinking fountains are not practical when you're talking about our one million annual visitors," PNE spokeswoman Laura Ballance said yesterday. "We'd need to put one in every foot and a half. This idea is a square peg in a round hole."
Earlier yesterday, city council voted unanimously to immediately turn off the tap when it comes to ordering bottled water and serving it at civic offices in the city.
Councillors also voted to forward their recommendations to the parks board, PNE, library board and police board "for their consideration" of also phasing out bottled water.
Ballance said that while the PNE supports the spirit of the move to keep plastic water bottles out of area landfills, the idea doesn't hold water when it comes to PNE events.
As well as the 17-day fair, the PNE hosts the Vancouver Giants and large concerts at the Pacific Coliseum, as well as the Playland amusement park, which opens tomorrow.
She said parents with children spending a day at the PNE in blazing summer sun wouldn't take kindly to the move.
Many would feel uncomfortable if they were asked to fill refillable water bottles in fairground washrooms, she added.
And concert-goers are unlikely to leave their seats every 20 minutes in search of a water fountain, she said.
The PNE nets about $500,000 from the sale of 200,000 water bottles each year, but Ballance said that's not the reason the board would likely oppose the move.
"In some instances, a blanket policy doesn't work," she said. "In our instance, it's not feasible.
"The length of stay on our site is very different from a visit to a library. If they can't get water, a great percentage of people would switch to a sugar-based pop or juice."
Coun. Tim Stevenson conceded that while the city will ask the PNE, library and parks board to comply, "it's up to them -- they make those decisions."
"It will be phased out fairly immediately in city hall but in areas like the PNE and the parks, they all have their own separate boards and we're recommending this to them," he added. "We're asking them to abide by the pledge that's part of Metro Vancouver's water campaign."
He said the city is not ordering the other civic-related groups to ban bottled water.
"They are free not to," he added. "I think they will, over time. I think it will take a number of years."
Council heard earlier from Sean Griffin of Toxic Free Canada, who said that of 130 million bottles going into B.C. landfills every year, about one-third are water bottles. He said that if Starbucks can sell a cup of tap water for 75 cents, the city should be able to come up with some "creative" alternatives to bottled water.
At Vancouver's Third Beach yesterday, Kurt Max Runte applauded the city's initiative but thought it could be better aimed.
"I can get behind it but I think if the city is serious about the environment they should look at coffee-cup waste," said Runte, who lives in Vancouver's West End.
"At least with the plastic bottles the dumpster drivers recycle them, but there's coffee cups and cardboard everywhere."
Kirstie Hume, who normally carries reusable bottles, said she wondered how the bottle ban could affect tourists. She said the city should ensure there are plenty of water fountains in public parks before any move is made.
http://www.theprovince.com/news/obje...421/story.html 
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