Remember the drinking fountain, that once ubiquitous, and free, source of H2O? It seems quaint now. Instead, bottled water is everywhere, in offices, airplanes, stores, homes and restaurants across the country. We consumed over eight billion gallons of the stuff in 2006, a 10 percent increase from 2005. It's refreshing, calorie-free, convenient to carry around, tastier than some tap water and a heck of a lot healthier than sugary sodas..But more and more, people are questioning whether the water, and the package it comes in, is safe, or at least safer than tap water -- and if the convenience is worth the environmental impact
Evocative names and labels depicting pastoral scenes have convinced us that the liquid is the purest drink around.. "But no one should think that bottled water is better regulated, better protected or safer than tap," says Eric Goldstein, co-director of the urban program at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a nonprofit organization devoted to protecting health and the environment
Yes, some bottled water comes from sparkling springs and other pristine sources. But more than 25 percent of it comes from a municipal supply. The water is treated, purified and sold to us, often at a thousandfold increase in price. Most people are surprised to learn that they're drinking glorified tap water, but bottlers aren't required to list the source on the label. Labels can be misleading at best, deceptive at worst. In one notorious case, water coming from a well located near a hazardous waste site was sold to many bottlers. At least one of these companies labeled its product "spring water.." In another case, H2O sold as "pure glacier water" came from a public water system in Alaska
The controversy isn't simply about tap vs. bottled water; most people drink both, knowing the importance of plenty of water. What they may not know is that some bottled water may not be as pure as they expect. The NRDC tested more than 1,000 bottles of 103 brands of water. (This is the most recent major report on bottled water safety.) While noting that most bottled water is safe, the organization found that at least one sample of a third of the brands contained bacterial or chemical contaminants, including carcinogens, in levels exceeding state or industry standards.. Since the report, no major regulatory changes have been made and bottlers haven't drastically altered their procedures, so the risk is likely still there
* The United States is the world's leading consumer of bottled water. In 2006, bottled water consumption in the US reached a record 8.3 billion gallons, 185 million gallons of which was imported.. The total amount spent on bottled water was over $11 billion
* In contrast to tap water, which is distributed through an energy-efficient infrastructure, transporting bottled water long distances involves burning massive quantities of fossil fuels
* Making bottles to meet Americans' demand for bottled water requires more than 1.. 5 million barrels of oil annually, enough to fuel some 100,000 US cars for a year
* It costs more money to drink bottled water than to put gas in your car--up to five times more--due mainly to its packaging and transportation
* 86 percent of plastic water bottles used in the United States become garbage or litter
* Buried water bottles can take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade
* Bottled water companies do not have to release their water-testing results to the public, whereas municipalities do
Most bottled water comes in polyethylene terephthalate bottles, indicated by a number 1, PET or PETE on the bottle's bottom.. The bottles are generally safe, says Ken Smith, PhD, immediate past chair of the American Chemical Society's division of environmental chemistry.. But scientists say when stored in hot or warm temperatures, the plastic may leach chemicals into the water
It's not just where you store your water, but what you do with it as you carry it with you. Many people sip from a bottle that's been sitting in a hot car, a potentially dangerous move.. "Leaving bottled water out in the car changes the chemical equilibrium so that the materials from the plastic go into the water faster," says Smith
Last year, scientists in Germany found that the longer a bottle of water sits around (in a store, in your home), the more antimony it develops. High concentrations of antimony can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.. In the study, levels found were below those set as safe by the EPA, but it's a topic that needs more research
Last summer, a National Institutes of Health (NIH) committee agreed that Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical found in polycarbonate (used to make watercooler jugs, sport-water bottles and other hard plastics, but not PET), may cause neurological and behavioral problems in fetuses, babies and kids. A separate NIH-sponsored panel found that the risk was even greater, saying that adult exposure to BPA likely affects the brain, the female reproductive system and the immune system.. The FDA has reviewed these reports and says it will keep monitoring the data to see if the agency needs to take regulatory action
The potential health risks are important to understand, but bottled water also affects the health of the planet
Manufacturing plastic is resource-intensive and yields various nasty emissions that contribute to global warming and degradation of water quality. It's made from non-renewable resources, and for all intents and purposes, it never biodegrades (although some specialized variations have been made specifically to do so). Yes, we'll run out of oil eventually, but we'll always have our plastic garbage.. Add to this the growing suspicion that plastic use may lead to serious health problems
"Bottled water is an increasingly growing business, and with that comes a whole lot of environmental impact that can be avoided by a turn of the faucet," says Jenny Powers of the NRDC. While we struggle to cut down on our consumption of fossil fuels, bottled water increases them. Virgin petroleum is used to make PET, and the more bottles we use, the more virgin petroleum will be needed to create new bottles. Fossil fuels are burned to fill the bottles and dis-tribute them.. (It's not just bottled water, but juices, soda and other beverages packed in plastic that add to this waste)
Some brands of water come from islands and countries thousands of miles away, and shipping bottles can cause carbon pollution to spill into the water and spew into the air
Then there's the waste of water itself, says Todd Jarvis, PhD, associate director of the Institute for Water and Watersheds at Oregon State University.. According to his calculations, it takes about 72 billion gallons of water a year, worldwide, just to make the empty bottles
Treating and filtering tap water for bottling creates even more waste. By some estimates, it takes about two liters of water to make every liter you see on store shelves.. "Bottled water has a significant environmental burden," says the NRDC
Demystifying Bottled Water
What You Can Do
Try the tap again ~ First, check it out. If your water comes from a public source (rather than a well), you should get a water-quality or consumer-confidence report from the water company once a year. It's also available at any time from the local water utility. Read the report carefully, making sure not only that your water has received a passing grade overall but also that contaminants haven't exceeded the maximum allowable levels, even for a short while. If you have well water, get it tested every year.. For more information, call the EPA's toll-free Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 800-426-4791, or visit the website for the Campaign for Safe and Affordable Drinking Water
Home Water Filters ~ Even though tap water is often as safe or safer than bottled, a filter is sometimes advisable for both purity and taste reasons.. Facts About Water Filters from the Real Money newsletter provides an excellent overview to help you decide whether you need a home filter and if so, what kind to buy.. Consumer Reports also provides an in-depth comparison of the pros and cons of various methods of home filtration—from simple pitchers to under-the-sink installations.. Note that most water filters, Brita, Pur, etc are readily available in many chain stores
Get a canteen or bottle ~ Carry your plain or filtered tap water in a reusable stainless steel or lined drinking container, and clean it between uses. Some come with an easy-to-tote strap.. You can find stainless steel versions from Klean Kanteen and New Wave Enviro, and the colorful bottles from SIGG..Go glass! Aquasana offers glass water storage bottles, remember to recycle!
SIGG Bottle
Think twice about the office watercooler ~ If it's made of polycarbonate, it has the potential to leach BPA, a chemical that can cause neurological problems, among other things.. And have you ever seen anyone actually clean the watercooler? Probably not!
If you stick with plastic, some choices are better than others Look for the numbers on the bottom of the container
AVOID (notorious leachers)
3 (PVC) 6 (polystyrene) 7 (a catchall category—includes polycarbonate hard plastic camping and baby bottles)
BETTER
2 (HDPE) 4 (LDPE) 5 (PP)
A few additional plastic pointers:
Camping gear giant, Nalgene, for one, sells mostly hard plastic, tinted polycarb bottles but also offers an opaque 2 HDPE bottle.. It's less stylish, but apparently better for you
If you have a 1 plastic bottle you're thinking of using, this type is also considered relatively safer, but isn't commonly used to manufacture reusable containers. It is used to make soda bottles. However, 1 bottles are hard to clean thoroughly.. And just refilling your soda bottle over and over might net you a not-so-healthy swig of bacteria with your cool beverage
And as always if you choose to use plastic please remember to recycle! For more on recycling visit Earth911. org
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