Suffolk considers banning bottled water

HAUPPAUGE, NY The measure is expected to go before the legislature Tuesday. It would bar the county from spending any money on single-serving bottled water of one liter or less.

One supporter, Neal Lewis, of the Long Island Neighborhood Networks, noted that the manufacture of plastic bottles consumes more than 17 million barrels of oil annually, and another 41 million barrels are wasted in filling, transporting, cooling and disposing of bottles.

The local law gives the county health commissioner the power to grant waivers in cases where the public water supply is deemed unsafe.