Preaching Tap and Drinking Bottle?

I did not feel well through much of the World Water Forum, which concluded in Istanbul today. To be sure, there are many things that can make you feel sick at the Forum after a few days: The omnipresence of 8,000 police men and women – in the meeting halls, the corridors and even the toilets. The deportation of my two colleagues for a simple banner drop. Or the constant talk of corporate managers and bureaucrats about the needs of the poor for large dams and private water supply.

It wasn’t corporate hypocrisy that weakened my stomach though. I try not to preach tap and drink bottled water at home and when I travel. This also seemed to be the responsible choice in the modern city of Istanbul. After all, the organizers of the Forum had provided all participants with reusable bottles to show that they were serious about sustainability. Yet after a few days, I learned from a local colleague that the city’s residents fetch their supplies from water towers because tap water is too polluted. A quick Google search confirmed that Istanbul’s water supply is heavily infested with Streptococcus, Coliform and other bacteria that you don’t want to know about.

In order to avoid embarrassing the host city, the organizers of the Forum had not told their participants that tap water was not safe to drink. And I had failed to see through their little public relations stunt. Fittingly, my discomfort at the World Water boiled (or rather, didn’t boil) down to this most basic factor of good health, clean water.

Peter Bosshard is the Policy Director of International Rivers.