Because water is a human right and not a commodity to be bought and sold for profit;

 Because bottled water corporations are changing the very way people think about water and undermining people's confidence in public water systems;

 Because up to 40% of bottled water in the U.S. and Canada is sourced from municipal tap water;

 Because some bottlers have run over communities' concerns and the environment when they extract water and build bottling plants to get local spring and ground water;

 Because bottled water travels many miles from the source, results in the burning of massive amounts of fossil fuels, and contributes to the billions of plastic bottles ending up in our landfills;

 Because worldwide there is a need for investments in public water systems to ensure equal access to water, a key ingredient for prosperity and health for all people; and

 Because solutions to ensuring water as a fundamental human right require people acting together and standing up for public water systems,