Bottled Water Versus Tap Water, Which Is Better

Studies Show That Tap Water Is As Good Or Better Than Bottled Water

Jun 20, 2009

Many people spend substantial amounts of money each year on bottled water because they believe that it is cleaner or safer than tap water.

Studies conducted in the U.S. show that tap water is often cleaner and safer than bottled water. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) conducted a study evaluating contaminants in bottled water. They tested 103 brands of bottled water and found that one-third contained contaminants, and one even exceeded allowable limits ("Bottled Water: Pure Drink or Pure Hype?" NRDC March 1999.).

The Scary Truth About Bottled Water

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for ensuring that many products people purchase for consumption are safe. However, companies who package and sell their bottled water within the same state, which constitutes 60-70 percent of all bottled water consumed in the U.S., are exempt from inspection by the FDA. Those that are overseen by the FDA are actually not tested as stringently as city tap water is - bottled water is not required to be disinfected, filtered or tested for contaminants such as viruses. Bottled water is tested for bacteria once per week and synthetic chemicals once per year, in contrast to tap water which is tested weekly and quarterly for bacteria and chemicals, respectively. Even fecal traces are allowable in bottled water, provided they're not too high ("Bottled Water: Pure Drink or Pure Hype?" NRDC March 1999.).

Labeling of bottled water is meant to inspire images of crisp clean flowing mountain spring water, bottled directly and sold straight to the buyer. Surprisingly, anywhere from 25-40 percent of bottled water sold in the U.S. is simply tap water that has been put in a bottle, labeled attractively, and had a price tag attached. It was discovered that in one case "pure glacier water" was indeed bottled public city water, and one labeled "spring water" actually came from a source near an industrial parking lot and hazardous waste site!

Health Concerns Aren't The Only Reasons To Avoid Bottled Water

Globally, the consumption of bottled water doubled between 1999 and 2004, reaching an astonishing 41 billion gallons each year, according to the Earth Policy Institute. The United States consumes the majority, at 7 billion gallons per year. To meet this demand, 2.7 million tons of plastic, and 1.5 million barrels of petroleum (enough to fuel 100,000 cars for one year) are needed annually ("Bottled Water Isn't Healther Than Tap, Report Reveals." National Geographic. James Owen. February 2006.). Of these plastic bottles, most are used once and then discarded; 86 percent enter the waste-stream, contributing to burgeoning landfills and a litter problem. A 2009 Ocean Conservancy report titled "A Rising Tide of Ocean Debris" found that plastic bottles made up six percent of all marine trash, and bottle lids contributed eight percent. They were exceeded only by plastic bags, which made up twelve percent of marine litter. The largest concentration of litter on the planet, which can be seen from space, is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a swirling gyre of trash in the Pacific Ocean, which includes a large number of plastic bottles. A plastic bottle takes between 400 - 1,000 years to biodegrade. Bottled water is a financial drain as well. It is estimated that effective advertising has lured consumers to pay from 240 - 10,000 times more per gallon for bottled water than tap water.

The copyright of the article Bottled Water Versus Tap Water, Which Is Better in Waste Reduction is owned by Sara Wittenberg. Permission to republish Bottled Water Versus Tap Water, Which Is Better in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.