Bottled water

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Bottled water is essentially a dirtier, more expensive[1] version of municipal water resold in P.E.T. plastic bottles[2] in many first world countries. Companies that manufacture bottled water, such as Coca-cola, Pepsi, and Nestlé hide all this by using all sorts of refreshing terms: "purified spring mineral water", and there are usually depictions of exotic mountains to invoke purity and freshness. The manufacturers have also taken great pains to claim that bottled water is cleaner and tastes better than tap water, while tap water is unhealthy and dangerous. It seems to have paid off. Over half of all Americans (54%) drink bottled water,[3] but it's not necessarily good for the environment or us. Not surprisingly, the bottled water industry was quick to dispute those claims.[4]

[edit] Regulation

In the U.S., bottled water is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration while tap water is regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency[5]. It doesn't sound like much, but once you consider how the regulation process goes, the E.P.A. goes much further to ensure the water is safe for drinking. The F.D.A. simply lacks the authority to regulate the bottled water. It regulates only interstate commerce, so as a result, it cannot regulate resold municipal tap water in bottles.

The FDA requires companies to test their own bottled water. In other words, food companies can pass regulations just by saying their water is safe. Companies are not required to disclose the origins of their bottled water, its testing methods, or what contaminants are being tested as well. Independent testing shows that they're liars; many studies indicate that bottled water often fail to meet E.P.A. standards of mercury, thallium, and thorium amounts.[6][7] When bottled water must be recalled for contamination, it is hardly publicized until recently.[8]

Meanwhile, tap water goes through rigorous testing, thanks to the Safe Drinking Water Act.[9][10] The results show that tap water has consistently less contaminants than bottled water. Although there are highly publicized contaminated tap water incidents, there is no scientific evidence that tap water has more toxins than bottled water; it's the other way around.

The UK treats bottled water as food:

Bottled waters are split into 3 categories: natural mineral water, spring water and bottled drinking water. Each has their own rules and requirements on exploitation, sale and how they are labelled.
UK government website More info is accessible from this page.

[edit] The good things about bottled water

Bottled water isn't all bad. The most valid choice for bottled water is being a part of emergency kits since tap water is likely to be inaccessible after a disaster. The other uses for bottled water apply usually only in a pinch or simple convenience. Remember, just be careful when you store bottled water in your car or garage during a hot day. Bottled water has the portability, but can achieve similar results by carrying a thermos filled with tap water. Bottled water is also useful if your tap water filter is broken, and there is no feasible way of fixing it. Otherwise, you'd save more money in the long term by fixing your water filter. If the water quality around your area is just plain bad, it's also wise to switch to bottled water, but remember, the bottled water you're drinking is likely from your county's tap water.

Remember to at the very least recycle when you're done!

[edit] References

  1. http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=728070
  2. Even Coca-cola admits it.
  3. http://www.nrdc.org/Water/Drinking/bw/chap2.asp
  4. www.bottledwater.org/content/key-message-points
  5. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
  6. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10728111?
  7. Ikem, A., Odueyungbo, S., Egiebor, N.O., & Nyavor, K. (2001). "Chemical quality of bottled waters from three cities in eastern Alabama". The Science of the Total Environment 285 (1-3): 165–175. doi:10.1016/S0048-9697(01)00915-9.
  8. Bottled water recalls
  9. http://water.epa.gov/scitech/drinkingwater/labcert/basicinformation.cfm
  10. Tap water is more heavily regulated than bottled water.
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