BOTTLED AND FILTERED WATER NEWS

FACT OR FICTION
Is Bottled Water Better Than Tap?
It may be trendy to sip brand-name water, but experts say it's no healthier than drinking from the faucet.
By Karen Springen | Newsweek Web Exclusive
Dec 6, 2007 | Updated: 6:13  p.m. ET Dec 6, 2007

There's no question that drinking water is essential to our survival. But does it matter whether it comes from the sink or the store? Not according to Benjamin Grumbles, head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's water programs. "It's an urban myth that bottled water is safer than tap water," he says. "Without a doubt, we have a drinking water system that's the envy of the world." Until 1962 the federal government had no public drinking water quality standards. But today the EPA requires municipalities to test water daily and validates testing to make sure the nation's 52,000 community water systems meet stringent standards. (Consumers can contact their local water supplier and ask for the annual report card on contaminants.) "Municipalities are required to release a lot of information about what is in the tap water, and they have to test it more frequently than manufacturers of bottled water have to test their water," says Jennifer Hattam, green lifestyles editor for the Sierra Club's magazine.

Bottled water quality standards have been in place for nearly 35 years, and the industry is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. But even bottled water industry officials don't claim it's better for you than tap water. "We think drinking water, whether it's bottled or tap water, is a good thing. I will not state that bottled water is healthier," says Joe Doss, president of the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA), which represents bottled water makers. Instead the association stresses that there are some "taste differences" and "convenience issues." "It just boils down to what consumers prefer," says Doss. Judging by the numbers, it seems many prefer their water bottled—at least, some of the time. Last year Americans drank 8.2 billion gallons of bottled water, an increase of 9.5 percent from the year before. But 75 percent of bottled-water consumers report that they drink both water from the tap and bottled water, according to the IBWA. And, especially with a filter, you may not taste a difference. "It's very easy to create the same quality of water from your tap," says Urvashi Rangan, senior scientist and policy analyst for Consumers Union. (If you want more information on filters, check the Natural Resources Defense Council's guide and Consumer Reports' Greenerchoices.org.) Nearly half of all bottled water comes from the tap, anyway. (The rest use ground water—think "spring" water or "artesian" water.) But bottlers treat the tap water. Bottled water is stripped of chlorine, which is used by municipalities to disinfect tap water and can leave an aftertaste. Many bottled-water producers use ozone or ultraviolet disinfection instead. Bottled water is also stripped of fluoride, which is known to help prevent teeth decay, but many manufacturers add it back to their brands. (Click here for a list of brands that contain it.) While clean water in any form is good for you, tap water is better for the environment. Bottled water is usually packaged in single-use bottles made from fossil fuels, says Janet Larsen, director of research for the Earth Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. And bottled water often travels long distances, which can burn a lot more fuel. This week, the EPI released new data that shows that manufacturing the 29 billion plastic bottles used for water in the United States requires the equivalent of more than 17 million barrels of crude oil. When it comes down to it, most people use bottled water sparingly not because it's any healthier or less healthy—but because it's tougher on their pocketbook and on the environment. The EPA's Grumbles drinks bottled water only when he's on airplanes or traveling. "We're a mobile society, so there will always be a need for bottled water," he says. "[But] tap water is a tremendous bargain." For more drinking water information, check out the Web sites for the EPA, the National Sanitation Foundation or the FDA. Or call the EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 800-426-4791. If you think your tap water tastes funny, contact your water utility or state drinking water program.

Take it straight from the tap
Los Angeles Times August 7, 2007
BYLINE: Tom Standage, Tom Standage is the author of "A History of the World in Six Glasses."

In 1783, George Washington visited the natural springs of Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Along with Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, he took a keen interest in the supposed medicinal qualities of mineral water, a subject of much scientific research at the time. The following year, a friend wrote to him to describe the difficulty of bottling the strongly effervescent Saratoga water. "Several persons told us that they had corked it tight in bottles, and that the bottles broke," wrote Washington's friend. The birth of the United States thus coincided with the origins of bottled water.

The business of bottling water really got going in the 1790s in Switzerland, where doctors acclaimed the medicinal benefits of the artificially carbonated water sold by Nicholas Paul and Jacob Schweppe. The pair began exporting their bottled soda water in 1800, and such was its popularity in London that Benjamin Silliman, a visiting American chemistry professor, decided to set up his own soda-water venture in the United States. Others soon followed suit, and bottled water became a popular health drink.

But bottled water's mass appeal really began in the U.S. with the marketing of Perrier, imported from France, during the 1970s. The industry has not looked back since.

In recent years, though, sparkling water has been eclipsed by still water in popularity. Last year, sales of bottled water in the United States reached $11 billion. Globally, the figure may be as high as $100 billion annually.

Go into a restaurant or a supermarket and you will be offered water from all over the planet. The idea that bottled water from particular places is good for you has persisted since Washington's time, though today it is not statesmen but supermodels, rock stars and actors who set the trend with their preferences.

Bottled water may look and taste pure enough, but the whole idea stinks. For a start, bottled water is indistinguishable from tap water. Put five bottled waters up against tap water in a blind tasting and see if you can tell the difference. L.A. tap water came out on top in a 2006 blind tasting, beating water from New York and Seattle, among others. One judge called L.A.'s water "exceptional. Like a bottled water."

In many cases, bottled water is actually derived from tap water and filtered -- which is why PepsiCo has just agreed to add the words "public water source" to the label of its Aquafina water. But water from glacial springs is not inherently superior. Worse, shipping it around causes unnecessary environmental damage. Bottled water is often refrigerated before sale, wasting even more energy. Then there are the millions of plastic bottles, many of which end up in landfills.

Surely bottled water is purer and safer? Actually, no. The regulations governing the quality of public water supplies are far stricter than those governing bottled-water plants. True, there are sometimes contamination problems with tap water, but the same is true of bottled water.

The industry responds that it is not selling water; it is selling "portable hydration." But filling a bottle from the tap works just as well. The industry also likes to point out that bottled water is a healthy, calorie-free alternative to sugary soda drinks. The same goes for tap water.

Bottled water would appear to be the ultimate triumph of marketing. If you can get people to pay so much for something that is already available at very low cost in their own homes, doesn't that suggest that they will buy anything? Canned air, anyone? Of course, in a free society, people should be able to spend their money on silly things, provided they are in full possession of the facts. But many people are not, judging by the persistence of the idea that there is something magically superior about bottled water.

But now a backlash against bottled water is gathering pace as people realize just how daft it is. (Actually it is worse than daft; it is decadent to shun perfectly good tap water, given that more than 1 billion people on the planet lack access to it.) Many fancy restaurants now proudly proclaim that they serve tap water to burnish their green credentials. Restaurant patrons are increasingly prepared to ask unashamedly for tap water when offered expensive bottled stuff.

Campaigns such as "Think Outside the Bottle" attack bottled water as part of a corporate conspiracy to seize control of the world's water. Meanwhile, UNICEF's Tap Project, launched in March, uses the power of branding to promote tap water. New York tap water has, for example, been re-branded "NY Tap" and, on World Water Day, participating restaurants in the city suggest a donation for the tap water they usually provide for free, with the proceeds going to water projects in developing countries. I'll drink to that. Sparkling or still? Tap, please.

Tom Standage is the author of "A History of the World in Six Glasses."