Bottled vs. Tap, What’s the Real Story

“Water, water everywhere; not a drop to drink”...This ancient rhyme by mariner Samuel Taylor Coleridge was resonating in my head while recently wandering in the bottled water aisle at a popular food mart.  Yes…that is correct, stores now have their own bottled water aisles.  Sales of bottled water have tripled in the last ten years in upwards of four billion dollars a year.  Americans drank a whopping five billion gallons of bottled water in 2002.  That is equal to the same amount of water falling from the American Niagara Falls in two hours. In preparation for this article I decided to conduct a little research of different brands of bottled water.  Several brands showcased pictures of pristine glaciers and crystal clear springs in untouched mountains as their labels.  It almost makes you feel like you’re not only quenching your thirst but purifying your bodily system in the process.  Many brands advertised pure or natural spring water from areas such as Atlanta, Oklahoma, Pittsburgh or New Jersey… yes, New Jersey!  One brand of spring water had a quote on the back stating “micron-filtered and UV, enjoy”.  I may pass on that one.  Other brands simply state “purified drinking water, enhanced with minerals for a pure fresh taste”, isn’t that somewhat of an oxymoron. 

The truth is the controversy of bottled versus tap water has been brewing for the last ten years.  Studies have been conducted by organizations such as the National Resource Defense Council (NRDC), the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), and The University of Geneva amongst others.  What it boils down to (no pun intended) is the comparison of regulations by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) who oversee the bottled water market, versus the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), who governs our drinking water standards.  The FDA states that each time the EPA establishes a standard for a chemical or microbial agent; they either adopt it for the bottled water industry or feel it is unnecessary in order to protect the public health.  Generally over the years the FDA has adopted EPA standards for tap water as guidelines for bottled water.  As a result the standards for tap water and bottled water are very similar.  Then why are we migrating to the bottled water isle and purchasing millions of gallons of water?  Granted, if you live in a rural area where the water quality is sub-par, by all means it is a feasible choice.  Bottled water is a necessity in parts of the world without a safe source of potable water. But here in Louisville, the Water Company boasts that it operates an EPA certified laboratory, performing 300 water quality checks daily from both the Ohio River and the finished product.  In addition, the distribution monitoring is twice the requirements for federal compliance, and lastly they partner with the EPA and national and international water associations as part of a continual research effort into the Ohio River and drinking water.  That sounds very impressive considering they supply water to more than 800,000 people in the greater Louisville area and parts of Oldham and BullittCounty.

In February of 2004, RutgersUniversity, The Environmental Quality Institute and the NRDC conducted an exclusive evaluation of the water quality of 101 major cities, rating the drinking water on an A – F scale.  How did Louisville shape up?  We got a B.  The study was based on “maximum contaminant level goals” for drinking water set by the EPA.  In a study relevant to the bottled water industry, the NRDC conducted a four year analysis of 1,000 bottled water products from 103 different brands.  One brand of spring water, whose label pictured a lake and some mountains, actually came from a well in an industrial parking lot, near a hazardous waste dump, periodically contaminated with industrial chemicals. Our attitudes toward tap water are being shaped by the pollution which is choking the rivers and streams.  Many Louisvillians view the oil leak this past January that reached the Ohio River as flowing directly into a pipe, feeding your kitchen sink.  The bottled water industry realizes this and will capitalize upon it with billion dollar sales. According to the government and industry estimates, as much as 40% of bottled water is tap water – sometimes with additional treatment, sometimes not.  For you consumers of seltzer or carbonated water, the FDA exempts these products, delegating mild sanitation standards to the states, with less than half the states actively enforcing them.  In many cases tap water has another advantage many people don’t think about: It typically contains fluoride.  Communities have chosen to add fluoride to drinking water to promote strong teeth and prevent tooth decay. This component is absent from the bottled water industry.

No matter where you sit in this see-saw issue, consumers don’t appear ready to give up their bottled water any time soon.  Younger, health oriented people are driving the markets growth.  These individuals have grown up with bottled water and it doesn’t seem like such a stretch to them to purchase water.  Bottled water has not only filled a biological need but has created a lifestyle.  Last week as I was venturing through the bottled water isle, I may have made an unpopular decision, strolling over to a water fountain to quench my thirst.  I never was one to go with the masses, but I may have saved almost $2.00 in the process and I have healthy teeth to this day.