San Francisco actually has always had very good water because it comes from the Sierra Nevada via Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. IIRC, the system has changed, and it may not come from Hetch Hetchy, but it still comes from the mountains.
New York City also had great water, because it came from the Adirondacks.
So some cities do have really good water. If buying bottled water from elsewhere was just a status thing, he was right to cancel that expense. People can fill their water bottles at the office fountain or cooler, if the water’s good. If it’s bad, however, he should be reasonable and have the city procurement offices look for the cheapest source for bottled water. Or people can bring their own.
In his executive order, Newsom referred to "Hetch Hetchy water." In fact, I think he might have used "municipal water" once, but that's the main term he used.
New York City also had great water, because it came from the Adirondacks.
Yuo. The concern there, as in many cities, is what gets introduced into to the water when it reaches your building (if the plumbing's old).
So some cities do have really good water. If buying bottled water from elsewhere was just a status thing, he was right to cancel that expense. People can fill their water bottles at the office fountain or cooler, if the water’s good.
I'm amazed no one has yet mentioned filtration systems. A $20 Brita pitcher produces water that is, to my palate, indistinguishable from bottled. For a little more up-front cost (starting at about $200 and up) but a lower cost per gallon, you can get a reverse osmosis system to sit under the sink.
I'm not worried about the health effects of my local water, but I don't like the taste of chlorine -- I know some folks are sensitive, some aren't and some get used to it. But after a trip to a friend's farm, and a week of drinking well water, it bugged me enough to get the filters.
And I take a filter with me to Orlando, because the water there has an unpleasant whiff of sulfur to me. But between the rapid population growth and the drought, Central Florida will probably be forced to get its water from desalination in a few years anyway.
Actually NYC water comes from Westchester county.
The New York City watershed covers an area of over 1,900 square miles in the Catskill Mountains and the Hudson River Valley. The watershed is divided into two reservoir systems: the Catskill/Delaware watershed located West of the Hudson River and the Croton watershed, located East of the Hudson River. Together, the reservoir systems deliver approximately 1.4 billion gallons of water each day to nearly 9 million people in New York City, much of Westchester County, and areas of Orange, Putnam, and Ulster Counties. The Catskill Water Supply System, completed in 1927, and the Delaware Water Supply System, completed in 1967 combine to provide about 90 percent of New York's water supply. The combined Catskill/Delaware (Cat/Del) watersheds cover 1,600 square miles. Water from the Catskill and Delaware systems is mixed in the Kensico reservoir before it is discharged into the Hillview reservoir and on to the distribution system. Drinking water from the Cat/Del System is of high quality and is currently delivered to New York consumers unfiltered (in compliance with the Surface Water Treatment Rule). The Croton Water Supply System began service in 1842 and was completed prior to World War I. Consisting of ten reservoirs and three controlled lakes, the Croton system has the capacity to hold 95 billion gallons of water and normally provides 10 percent of New York's daily water supply. The Croton Watershed covers approximately 375 square miles East of the Hudson River in Westchester, Putnam, and Dutchess Counties and a small section of Connecticut.