Put that bottle down – tap into your tap water! You might not know it, but Canadian tap water is award winning. In blind taste tests, Canadian tap water takes the lead. That's because we have wonderful, pristine water sources, sources worth protecting for generations to come. According to the Polaris Institute, a tap refill saves up to 5 liters of water that would have been wasted in making 1 liter of bottled water. Bottled water is 2000 to 10000x more expensive than water from the tap, even though over 40% of bottled water is merely filtered tap water!

Did you know that on average, bottled water plants are inspected every 3 years, in contrast to tap water, which is subject to multiple daily inspections to ensure the highest quality? It's no surprise, then, that bottled water was recently found to have high levels of bacteria.

Feeling thirsty? Make a wise choice – choose the tap.

We applaud the efforts of The Council of Canadians, who work tirelessly to educate people about Canadian and global water issues. With Maude Barlow at their helm, they also fight for more just global water policies. A recent documentary featuring Maude Barlow, Water On The Table, explores Canada's relationship to its freshwater, arguably its most precious natural resource. The film asks the question: is water a commercial good like running shoes or Coca-Cola? Or, is water a human right like air?

The Story of Bottled Water explains how wasteful bottled water truly is, and why in the end, sticking to the tap is our best option:

To take action on bottled water, join Think Outside the Bottle, an organization that works in communities to support improving public tap water systems and reducing our reliance on bottled water. Pledge to put down the bottle and drink public tap water with the Council of Canadians.

To learn how you can protect your community's water and how to act yourself visit our Water Protectors campaign page. Do you have a story to tell on water? What are you doing to conserve and protect water? Share your story here for your chance to win a prize in this week's contest!

GreenHeroes.tv is all about saving the planet, one story at a time. Do you have a great story to tell about how you're helping to make the world a greener place? Enter the contest to nominate a friend or yourself - you could be Canada's next GreenHero!

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