So if you’re suspicious of the liquid flowing from your faucet, where do you get a safe, drinkable water supply?
Some people rely on bottled water. Its popularity is undeniable: the U.S. market contains more than 700 regional and 75 imported brands of water, and, according to a report by Beverage Marketing Corp., bottled water consumption has more than doubled in the last ten years. Reasons for this increase vary, but one common conviction is that bottled water is purer than tap water.
Yet this conviction is somewhat of a misconception. Yes, some water truly is bottled from sparkling mineral springs; however, more than 25% actually comes from a municipal supply which sometimes isn’t purified any more than the water that comes out of your tap.
An earlier, broader 4-year study by the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) found that at least 34 of the 103 brands of water they tested contained levels of bacterial or chemical contaminants exceeding state or industry standards.
Of the 141 contaminants identified by EWG in bottled water, 52 have been linked to cancer, 41 have been linked to reproductive harm, 36 have been linked to developmental harm and 16 have been linked to immune system damage.
Who is allowing all of this contamination? The Environmental Protection Agency oversees the purification of tap water, while the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for bottled water. However, the FDA is not responsible for water packaged and sold within the same state. Consequently, the purity of 60-70% of U.S. bottled water remains the responsibility of individual states, some of which—according the NRDC report—lack even one full-time employee for the task. Furthermore, bottlers are not required to inform consumers of their water source, how the water has been treated, or even if the product becomes contaminated.
Being that bottled water seems no purer or healthier than tap water, some companies have started advocating and promoting the “refill” concept. (After all, bottled water costs up to 10,000 times more than tap water, and results in the disposal of 22 billion petroleum-based plastic bottles a year.)
Source is a water bottle/fountain initiative designed by Oliver Craig that rewards consumers for refilling their bottle (purchased from Source) with points redeemable at participating stores. Although not yet instituted, this could be a particularly viable option for countries where drinkable water is limited to bottled water.
But if convenience isn’t enough, and you really want purer water . . . are water filters the answer? Find out next week in Part 3.
I love water