City Granted Waiver on Water Filtering

Mayor Bloomberg is discouraging New Yorkers from buying bottled water and encouraging them to drink tap water instead.

Mr. Bloomberg said yesterday the city's water is so clean that the federal government is waiving a requirement to filter water from the Catskills/Delaware watershed, which provides 90% of the city's drinking water.

"New Yorkers can turn on the tap whenever they want and fill up a glass of some of the most delicious water on the planet," Mr. Bloomberg said. "Drinking tap water instead of bottled water is not only easier on your wallet, it's also easier on the environment."

As part of the 10-year waiver deal, the city has agreed to expand the way it protects its water supply. It will acquire more land surrounding its upstate watershed and start treating water at a new ultraviolet disinfection facility.

The waiver will save the city an estimated $8 billion that it would have cost to build a new filtration plant, according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency administrator, Stephen Johnson. Mr. Bloomberg, a red wine lover, toasted the deal with a glass of city tap water. After taking a sip he said it was "probably a 2007" and that it tasted deep-bodied and robust.