Purchase of Bottled Drinking Water
It is the policy of the Board of County Commissioners that all County buildings have potable water available for occupants and visitors to the buildings. OSHA regulations and the Hillsborough County Building Code require that potable water be made available in a building. When potable water is not available in a building, bottled water may be considered for an alternative either temporarily or permanently as determined by the relative cost of other sources of potable water. If potable water is not available in a building, it is the responsibility of the using department or agency (occupant) to arrange for an annual testing of the water source to determine if the source of water is potable.
Guidelines for water testing are available from the Property Management Section in the Real Estate Department.
When the water is tested and the results show the water is not potable, a copy of the report must be submitted to the Property Management Section of the Real Estate Department and bottled water may be selected as the most efficient method to correct the non-potable water issue.
As a general rule, the expenditure of County funds must serve primarily a public purpose. Thus, if bottled water purchased using County funds is situated as to serve members of the public, the more likely expenditures for it would serve a public purpose. Additionally, items that would not justify bottled water include a preference for better tasting water or chilled water. Neither OSHA nor the County requires that the available potable water be chilled nor that it be located in each individual office of a building.
Requests for bottled drinking water will be evaluated by Real Estate Department staff to determine if less costly alternatives to bottled water, such as water fountains, may be appropriate. If not, bottled water will be authorized subject to an annual review and re-testing of the contaminated water source