Vancouver tap water vies with Olympic sponsor

Metro Vancouver has started a campaign to encourage Olympic tourists to drink the region's tap water instead of buying bottled water, creating a potential conflict with Coca-Cola Ltd., one of the Games' biggest official sponsors.

"We're supplying the water — free," Metro Vancouver's water committee chairman Tim Stevenson said at the Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel in downtown Vancouver during the launch Tuesday of the tap water campaign.

The hotel is the first to join the city's effort to minimize the use of bottled water.    

'Our bottled water does not compete with tap water.' —Coca-Cola's Nicola Kettlitz

The hotel is making a point of informing guests and restaurant patrons that Vancouver's water is clean, filtered in the mountains and tasty.

"Bottled water is a major seller in our guest rooms through the mini-bars," said hotel manager Randy Zupanski. "I was concerned about the fall-off of those sales … but it's the right thing to do."

To make up for a potential loss in bottled water sales, the Fairmont Pacific Rim is selling a stainless-steel portable water container for $12.95, placed conspicuously in each room's mini-bar.

Stevenson said a goal of the tap water campaign is to reduce sales of bottled water by 20 per cent by the end of 2010.

Coca-Cola, a prominent Olympics sponsor, sells Dasani bottled water and expected to sell more than a million plastic bottles of the product during the Games.

Its bottles aren't wasteful because 80 per cent of plastic bottles in B.C. are recycled into other things, according to Coca-Cola spokesman Nicola Kettlitz.

"For example, my uniform is made entirely from recycled bottles," Kettlitz said.

Head-to-head competition

He also said his company has no concerns about the tap water campaign.

"Our bottled water does not compete with tap water. It's about having clean water available in a convenient place, and tap water is not always available in a convenient place."

But both water purveyors will be competing head-to-head at some venues during the Games.

The city has created two so-called Live Sites in downtown Vancouver where thousands of people can gather to listen to live music and watch sports events on giant video screens.

Coca-Cola will be at both locations, selling its range of drinks, including Dasani. Stevenson said Metro will be making its product available, too.

"We were very concerned about our Live Sites. There's definitely going to be water supplied by Metro."