Tap water versus bottled water at Presidential inauguration

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Officials in the District of Columbia are asking Congress to serve tap water instead of bottled water at the presidential inauguration.

The general manager of the district's water authority, George S. Hawkins, made the plea Thursday in a letter to U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, a Democrat from New York. The letter says tap water is a penny a gallon, while bottled water costs 100 times more. Schumer announced this month that New York-based Saratoga Springs Water will supply water for the inauguration.

Bottled water opponents say that in addition to the waste created by disposable bottles, trucking in bottled water also creates pollution.

Hawkins says that if bottled water is served, the authority is willing to provide reusable water bottles to members of Congress.