Bottled Water: What's All The Fuss? (Part 3)

In my past two blog posts, I've looked at the costs and quality of bottled and tap water. Today, I'm going to see how bottled water measures up to tap water in regards to environmental costs. 

The results of this investigation are not surprising, and at this point, fairly widely known. I would imagine most people, regardless of their taste preferences or thoughts on quality, would agree that bottled water is less environmentally friendly than tap water. 

The reasoning is simple: Bottled water needs to be bottled (duh). Bottles are made of plastic which necessitates oil for its production. The plastic and oil use are polluting our planet and wasting resources. But I should probably be a bit more specific than that...

1. OIL: The creation of the plastic bottle requires oil... and not just a small amount. It's estimated that the production of the plastic bottle, packaging, and capping uses an energy equivalent of 17 million barrels of oil a year. We are depleting an un-reusable resource, using energy that could be used for something else, and polluting the earth in the process. 

2. WASTE: People living in the US purchase about half a billion bottles of water per week. If you laid these bottles of water end to end, they would circle the globe more than 5 times. That's a LOT of waste that is piling up in landfills all over the Earth. We will be feeling the negative repercussions of this waste for centuries to come. 

3. TRANSPORTATION: The water has to get from the bottling facility to the store in which it's being sold. Whether this is by plane, train, car, or donkey, energy and resources are being used. Of course, the exact amount is difficult to measure. Some bottles are manufactured locally. Some are shipped overseas. Regardless, the process demands energy and time and inevitably creates waste. 

4. WATER: Very ironically, it takes 3 liters of water to produce 1 liter of bottled water. Really, this is just ridiculous. The planet is already running out of clean, accessible water. Using water to produce costly, environmentally detrimental water is a waste of this precious resource.

  

I could go into more reasons, but I think the four above make the point pretty clearly. The Bottom Line: The creating and selling of bottle of water depletes our resources, consumes energy, and pollutes. We could avoid all of those things by buying a reusable water bottle and filling it at the tap. So I'm going to do that. Who's with me?

Bottled Water: What's All The Fuss? (Part 2)

Although tap water is definitely the economical choice, is it the healthy / safe choice?

I'm sure the reasons for buying bottled water are varied, but I'm guessing that one of the top reasons is the belief that bottled water is much safer than tap water. If this is true, I can't say I blame those who buy it.

Assessing whether tap water and bottled water is safer isn't quite as easy as determining which one is cheaper. I'm no scientist, so for this one, I'm just going to have to rely other people's research. However, before diving into relevant information, I'll give my own thought that there's probably no clear cut answer to this one. Bottled water varies by company. Tap water varies by location. No one source is always going to win out over the other.

But let's get into more detail (provided by the US Government Accountability Office):

Tap water is regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Bottled water is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). For the most part, the quality regulations are similar. But not completely... A few KEY differences are found:


1. The FDA has not adopted all the same maximum contaminant loads as the EPA.  For instance, the FDA does not have a limit for asbestos and (most importantly) DEHP. Knowing what DEHP stands for is not important. What IS important is to know that it has been shown to cause reproductive problems, liver disease, and cancer. Although the EPA created a policy in 1992 and the FDA was required to adopt one in 1993, it still has yet to do so.
What is going on here? Why hasn't something happened in the past 18 years to make this happen?!

2. Regulation of bottled water is not as good as tap water. Unlike tap water requirements, the FDA does not require bottled water testers to report test results, even if they show violations of water standards. Along those lines, bottled water testers are not required to use certified laboratories for their testing.
Is it just me, or does this seem kind of fishy?


3. Inspections of bottled water are not as frequent as those of tap water. The FDA only appoints an average of 2.6 full-time positions a year (from 2000-2008) to inspect bottled water facilities.
Really? Who could possibly think that was a good idea?


4. Imported bottled water lacks firm oversight. From 2004 to 2008, of the 67% percent of imported bottled water that was actually subjected to an on-screen review, only 4% was examined further and even less was actually sampled.
This yells SECURITY THREAT to me. 

5. Bottled water labels contain less information than is required for tap water.
Less Regulation + Less Information = uh oh

Basically, I could go on and on and on about this and I WANT to go on and on and on about this because it's so incredibly interesting to me... but the bottom line is that bottled water is less regulated than tap water and is in no way proven to be more safe.

Does that mean that bottled water is dirtier than tap water? not necessarily
However, does that mean that bottled water is worth the astounding price difference? absolutely not.


So here's my advice, given the assessment: Unless you live in an area that is proven or suspected to have tainted tap water, buying bottled water will certainly not safeguard you against the potential harms of water. If anything, you are putting yourself at greater risk. Drink from the tap.

Bottled Water: What's All The Fuss? (Part 1)

In the past few years, a lot of attention has been drawn to bottled water. It's a hot topic and it should be! With all the resources and money that go into the water industry, people should get the facts straight.  My next few blog posts will compare bottled water to public water sources in the categories of price, quality, and environmental sustainability. Then we'll see who comes out on top.

The Price Point:

Personally, I think the concept of bottled water (in the United States) is completely silly. Day after day, I watch people buy bottled water, and day after day I think, "Don't all these people realize that there is essentially free water running out of sink?" Bottled water seems to be an economically irrational craze.

In order to see just HOW irrational of a craze, I thought I'd do a price comparison. I will use Boston water rates as my basis since that's where I live :)

PUBLIC WATER: The Boston Water and Sewage Commission says that a family consuming 180 gallons of water per day will have to pay $67.40 for a 31-day month. Working out the math, each gallon of water costs 1.2 pennies. Pretty daaarn cheap.

by contrast

PRIVATE WATER: On Amazon.com, I can buy a pack of six 0.5 Liter Dasani water bottles for $7.95.  Now, let's do that math.  That's almost eight dollars for 3 Liters of water or .79 gallons of water, making the price for a gallon of bottled water equal to $10.03!!!!

That means the price of bottled water is 835.8 times more than the price of water coming out of your tap.   I would think that this significant price disparity would make bottled water almost impossible to sell... yet people continue to buy it! As long as there is a market, there will be suppliers. And there are definitely suppliers. Water is the third largest global industry, behind oil and electricity- a 400 billion dollar global industry.

It doesn't seem right. It doesn't make sense. It certainly isn't economical.

So there you go, in a contest of money and practicality, I award 835 points to tap water and 1 to bottled water. Next time you are looking to quench your thirst, I would recommend saving yourself the extra $$ and heading to a faucet instead. I know I will.

Why Water?

My passion is water. And really... what's not intriguing about water?

Water is both loved and feared.
Life-sustaining and murderous.
Taken for granted and coveted.
Abused.
Overused.

It's a human right that is being denied to millions of people around the world.

So I've decided to write a blog about it- partially to (hopefully) educate others about some of the major issues surrounding water, but mostly just to give myself an excuse to learn more.

I'm a researcher. I'm a writer. I'm a water advocate.