Massachusetts town ditches water coolers

We were a little surprised to learn that elected officials in Freetown, Mass., recently voted to remove water dispensers from town hall and other public buildings.

More and more, we're hearing about cities and towns banning bottled water. But getting rid of water coolers? That's a new one.

Like many municipalities around the country, Freetown is facing tight budgets and looking for creative ways to do some belt tightening. Removing five water coolers from town hall, the police department, the fire department and the highway department and will save $500 annually, according to an article at SouthCoastToday.com.

When the Board of Selectman scrapped the coolers from the budget by a 2-1 vote, they reasoned that town employees could drink tap water.

Just one problem with that plan: the tap water in Town Hall is not fit to drink.

A fountain turned on as a substitute for the cooler H20 produces a less than appealing potable with rust particles and a yellow tinge. The only other place in the building where running water is available is in the restroom.

"The piping is so old, I don't think it has been updated since 1888 when Town Hall was built," [Town Clerk Jacqueline] Brown said. "It's very old and is OK for washing hands and stuff like that, but I don't know about to drink."

So, employees have been bringing bottled water to work instead and trashing the empties because Freetown doesn't have recycling.

Squeezed by the economic realities of small-town budgets, selectmen in Freetown made a $500 financial call that has far greater environmental costs. What's more, they've since discovered that it will cost more to fix the malfunctioning fountain than to keep the coolers.

Kudos to Town Clerk Brown, who is trying to find a better solution than bottled or tap water, and to Selectman Lisa Pacheco, who voted against the removal and even offered to donate one of her paychecks to maintain the water dispensers. They've earned the Break Free seal of approval.