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Two former councillors returned to city hall on Monday to advocate for the end of bottled water sales at municipal facilities.

Clive Doucet, Diane Holmes and about 50 supporters of the Ottawa Water Study/Action Group called on the city to do a better job of promoting municipal water and reducing the amount of plastic bottles generated as waste.

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“We are not telling our residents how wonderful our water is,” Holmes told supporters who gathered near the reflecting pool in Jean Pigott Place.

It’s a “disgrace” that the city lets beverage companies suggest their products are better than municipal drinking water, Holmes said, noting the city has two years left in contracts with beverage companies.

Vending machines at city facilities are provided by Coke and Pepsi and the city collects revenue through its sponsorship program.

Doucet said there’s a growing thirst to strong-arm bottled water out of public institutions. Montreal, for example, took an aggressive stand on single-use plastics last year.