The South Farmingdale Water District (SFWD) is stepping up promotion of their public service program of providing its residents with free water bottles to fill up with great tasting tap water. The campaign aims to save consumers money, protect the environment, and help raise awareness of the high quality of water in the district.
Suffolk County Water Authority recently announced a similar program, which the South Farmingdale Water District has had in place for a number of years. With both utilities actively giving free water bottles to their customers, Long Island is among the leading regions nationally in the water industry to embark on such an effort.
Savings to the consumer can be immense. The average consumer pays about $1.46 for a 20-ounce bottle of water from a convenience store. By comparison, $1.25 pays for about 1,000 gallons of water from the SFWD tap. Using those figures, the 1,000 gallons of bottled water would cost $9,344!
SFWD provides water for over 44,000 people in South Farmingdale, and the quality and characteristics of that water has rated to be among the best in the country, surpassing government standards. Charlie Prucha, Superintendent of SFWD comments, “No water bought on the shelf can measure up to the quality of our local water supply. It is constantly monitored for quality and safety.”
It has long been known that plastic bottles, especially in the numbers sold, are an environmental nightmare. They are seen discarded along roadsides, in parks, and in public places as unsightly garbage. Recycling helps, although the energy consumed to process them is expensive in the light of rapidly rising fuel costs. If they are tossed in the trash, they take up vast amounts of landfill space.
National figures tell us that in 2005 there were 2.3 billion bottles of water consumed in New York State alone, and 80% of those bottles were not recycled. In light of these figures, the significance of the SFWD bottle giveaway is tremendous, in savings to the consumer, in protection to our environment, and in cutting energy costs needed to manufacture and recycle commercial single-use water bottles.
Superintendent Prucha also remarks, “We’re glad to do our part to help the environment. How many times do you see plastic water bottles on the side of the road? That’s why we urge our residents to come down to the district and request a free water bottle and fill it with the best tap water around.”
The free water bottles are made from recycled, non-leaching durable plastic, and can be used many times. All that is required is a simple washing to keep them reusable. Residents can pick-up their free water bottle at the water district’s main office at 40 Langdon Road, in Farmingdale. There is a limit of two water bottles per household. For more information, contact the district at (516) 249-3330.