With the bottled water versus tap water debate heating up, on-line comments like “My husband and I drink bottled water in our house for the convenience of it” and “How safe can our tap water be to drink when it smells like chlorine?” make me want to knock people’s empty noggins together. Our tap water, which is tested 25,000 times over the course of a year according to Metro Vancouver’s Web site, is arguably some of the best in the world.

And it’s getting better. Rain, melting snow, and ice feed into the Capilano and Seymour reservoirs, where the water is currently treated with chlorine, and the Coquitlam Reservoir, where it’s treated with ozone. In early 2009, the new $600-million Seymour-Capilano Water Filtration Plant will be up and running, the largest water-treatment plant in North America to use ultraviolet light to purify water. This method disinfects it, eliminating pathogens and disease-carrying bacteria. The construction of the Coquitlam Reservoir’s $110-million ultraviolet disinfection facility is scheduled to begin next year.

The consequences of choosing bottled water over tap water are obvious. Metro Vancouver estimates that millions of plastic water bottles go into regional landfills each year, with more ending up in oceans and lakes, and along roadsides. Many are recycled, but the resources expended in making, transporting, and recycling the plastic are staggering.

Some people have pledged to stop buying bottled water, but what about restaurants? Who’s pouring tap water? And what are restaurants doing to satisfy customer demands while being mindful of the environment? Servers routinely ask if you’d like still or sparkling, but many don’t blink if you ask for tap water. Some restaurants, however, are reluctant to give up profitable (and popular) bottled water.

Bistrot Bistro serves chilled tap water as a matter of course, even listing “Kitsilano water” by the glass, carafe, and bottle on the menu. The price? Free. According to restaurateur Laurent Devin, “The demand for bottled still water has diminished drastically, but people like sparkling water when they go out.”

For customers who still prefer bottled water to tap, some restaurants are ensuring that those bottles have travelled as short a distance as possible. Le Gavroche’s Manuel Ferreira has neatly sidestepped the issue of imported H2O. He serves still and sparkling Miller Springs bottled water from Bridesville, B.C. That’s also the water of choice for Raincity Grill, which emphasizes regional cuisine. Grouse Mountain’s Observatory restaurant serves a bottled sparkler and offers still Whistler Water sourced from the Place Glacier north of Whistler.

At the 49th Parallel Coffee Roasters café, water matters. Vince Piccolo, co-owner of the locally based coffee roaster, says the café has “an intricate filtration system in place—it’s crucial for good coffee”. Water’s impurities and off tastes can seriously affect the flavour of coffee.

Although Metro Vancouver’s water is perfectly safe, some customers simply prefer the taste of filtered water. A couple of months ago, Bin 941 and Bin 942 chef-owner Gord Martin was considering bottling his own water sourced from family property in the Interior, and he still may. Currently, there’s a “high-tech filter” at Bin 941 and the chilled, filtered tap water is served in sterilized wine bottles. “Even our dishes are washed in filtered water,” Martin says. Bin 942 is next in line for the system.

Until they see what the new Metro Vancouver filtration plant brings, most high-end restaurants are sticking with the status quo, offering bottled water to diners who enjoy the cachet that they feel goes with it. Not so the recently opened Voya Restaurant in the Loden Hotel. It filters its water on-site, and once systems are fully operational in the new year, the restaurant will serve both still water and water that’s carbonated on the premises in customized flasks. “Chef Marc-André Choquette is creating [flavour] essences to add interest,” says Loden general manager Edel Forristal, who adds that “There’ll be individual filters at all points of guest-consumable water, like coffee stations.”

Restaurants have a way to go, but as customers we can do our bit by requesting tap water. I know I’ll happily upgrade to a better wine with my savings.