Gothamist has a Q&A with Craig Zucker, founder of Tap'dNY, a company that purifies, bottles, and distributes water that doesn't come from a spring in Poland or tropical Fiji. It comes out of every tap in New York City. Tap'dNY's mantra: "drink locally." Once the company has collected its taxpayer-supported loot, it filters it using reverse osmosis (to get out chemicals, such as chlorine), bottles it, and sells it around town for $1.50 in places like the Virgin Megastore.The psyche out involved here is that people don't really associate New York City with cleanliness (of the subways, streets, minds, and especially not water). But, compared to the rest of New York State, the megalopolis' water is the best, as judged by taste test at a state fair this summer. In the interview Zucker sheds some light on this seeming paradox:New York City is one of only 5 major cities in the country that comes from such a pure source that the EPA doesn't require filtering at all. It comes from upstate, on it's own power (the whole system is on a slope) and it's pretty good. If you're seeing discoloration or other impurities, it's probably taking place in the last 100 feet. The pipes inside your building aren't always the best.One caveat: The company suggests reusing the bottles--after all you're refilling it from the same source. Plastic water bottles, however, came under fire earlier this year when an ingredient used to make them--bisphenol A--was found to pose a health risk. The chemical is released when the bottle breaksdown and mimics estrogen in the body, which can affect childhood development.As a result of the recent wave of negative press, bottlemaker Nalgene announced in April that it was phasing out BPA-containing products. To its credit Tap'dNY is about to begin selling branded Sigg bottles, which are made of aluminum.Though, all this goes back to something my colleague Andrew Price blogged about yesterday: making access to clean water a human right. (There is a world beyond NYC.)
Share on Facebook
