Eyewitness This: Los Angeles becomes first 'Blue Community' in the country

Los Angeles has become the first major city in the nation to be designated as a "Blue Community."

The initiative, which was announced Wednesday, commits the city to recognizing water and sanitation as human rights, promoting safe water and wastewater services and to phasing out the sale of bottled water at municipal events.

Dozens of other cities around the world - including Paris, Berlin and Montreal - are also Blue Community members.

The Blue Communities Project, which began in 2009, is a joint initiative of the Blue Planet Project, the Council of Canadians and the Canadian Union of Public Employees. Members pass resolutions that "treat water as a common good that is shared by everyone and is the responsibility of all," according to the Council of Canadians.

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