CLEVELAND -- A NewsChannel5 investigation uncovered taxpayer money being thrown away on bottled water.

Investigator Ron Regan uncovered that Cuyahoga County spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on water, something that's free from the tap.

County workers have been getting free bottled water for years, and taxpayers are paying for it.

Since 2007, Cuyahoga County has been buying bottled water by the truckload. One contract was for more than $130,000 and another for more than $44,000, a third for more than $60,000 and another for more than $253,000.

When county administrator James McCafferty discovered that tax dollars were being spent on bottled water he moved quickly to drop the contracts, saving taxpayers more than $84,000.

"We have early retirement, we have a hiring freeze. How do I justify as county administrator spending $80,000 a year for county buildings?" McCafferty said.

McCafferty took over as county administrator after those contracts were awarded. On Thursday he officially pulled the plug on free water.