An attempt by Saint John Mayor Ivan Court to stop selling bottled water in municipal buildings was stymied Monday night by councillors who said people should have the right to choose what they drink.

Court wanted city-owned concessions or vending machines to stop selling bottled water as long as there were water fountains or taps nearby.

At the meeting, Court put a blue, 48-gallon water drum on display to help illustrate his points about bottled water.

He said it would cost a Saint John resident 18.6 cents to fill up a drum with city water, or they could fill it up using water from 400 of the 500 millilitre bottles, each sold at a corner store for about $1.60.

Court said he doesn’t believe there is any difference in the quality of the water.

"They do a great job at selling that waterfall coming down — that crystal-clear waterfall. But in actual fact, it’s a company spending billons of dollars to convince you to buy something you really have when you go and you turn on your tap," he told council.

Banning the sale of bottled water in city buildings would also cut down on the amount of plastic ending up the city’s landfill, he said.

Just about all the councillors said they liked the message Court was sending, but said people still should have a choice.

Deputy Mayor Stephen Chase said a ban wouldn’t be fair to people who don’t like drinking city water.

"Some people just don’t like drinking municipal water because it has chlorine in it. Our drinking water isn’t to the point where we can declare it completely safe. We’re getting there," he said.

The city has had ongoing problems with water quality. A boil-water order was issued in east Saint John for six days in June.

The order, which was the third for the region this year, was put in place June 2 after city staff detected a break in a chlorine injection line at the Latimer Lake water treatment facility.

Coun. Carl Killen also said he believes it’s up to the individual to decide what they drink.

"Certainly, I can support the idea of a public awareness campaign. I’d like to believe one is ongoing, but there is an element of choice involved. And if people want to make the choice personally, I don’t see it necessary to be so thorough in our approach," Killen said.

The motion to ban the sale of bottled water in city buildings went down to defeat by a vote of 5-5.

City council in London, Ontario, passed a motion in August to ban the sale of bottled water at city hall and city-owned facilities such as arenas, community centres and golf clubs. It was to be phased in gradually only at buildings that have water fountains.