I recently moved home, and although the water company was the same as at my old address somehow the water at my new home tasted `different.` Even after boiling it had an odor to it, and when the faucet was turned on first thing the smell of chlorine was strongly present.

I called up the water company who sent an inspector round to investigate. He took water samples away for testing, but, to my amazement I received a letter some days later telling me the water was `within their safety limits.`

That`s when I decided to purchase a water filter, which I`ve found reduces chemicals, the bad taste, and odor in my water. It`s slimline, fits in my refrigerator, and has a reasonable capacity for my needs. And the water after filtration tastes so pure; it was well worth the money.

                                                     

Why not bottled water?
In Europe the Food Safety Authority has confirmed that a survey in 2007 found that 1 percent of samples of bottled water had E. coli.

6.3 percent of water was found to have coliform bacteria, indicating possible faecal contamination.

FSA Chief Specialist in Food Science, Wayne Anderson said the level of contamination was unacceptable and any problems found were corrected immediately.

It was found that one in every 11 of Irish produced bottled water was contaminated, compared to one in 119 of imported water.

The study also found that over 7 percent of bottle water was in breach of Irish or EU guidelines.

Tests on leading brands of bottled water in the United States turned up a variety of contaminants often found in ordinary water from the faucet, according to a study released recently by an environmental advocacy group.

Check out the online version of NRDC's March 1999 petition to the FDA and attached report on the results of our four-year study of the bottled water industry, including its bacterial and chemical contamination problems.

A two-year study was also done by the Washington-based Environmental Working Group, an organization founded by scientists that advocates stricter regulation. It found the contaminants in bottled water purchased in nine states and Washington, D.C. Yet, there seems no quenching the thirst for more and more bottled water.

In a study in July 2009 in the U.S. two separate organizations-the Government Accountability Office and the Environmental Working Group-report that bottled water companies have too little information on their labels, and that the labels should contain at least the same level of information that the municipal water providers have to disclose.


                                  
                                             



The global bottled water market advanced by 6 percent in 2007, with bottled water volumes reaching 206 billion liters in the year. With a 7.9 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in the years 2002 to 2007, bottled water clearly remains a soft drink force to be reckoned with.

In the U.S. between 1997 and 2007, the amount of bottled water consumed per person more than doubled, from 13.4 gallons to 29.3 gallons.

Asia/Australasia is the leader in the growth of volume consumption. Africa achieved 14 percent growth on 2006 volumes. Consumption rose in all but the West European region, which exhibited a 0.2 percent decline in volume, in part due to low summer temperatures and high rainfall.

During 2008 the bottled water industry was worth about $16 billion in sales, but is now suffering as colleges, communities and some governments take measures to limit or ban its consumption.

What do politicians think of bottled water consumption rates? Drinking bottled water should be made as unfashionable as smoking, according to a government adviser in the UK.

"We have to make people think that it's unfashionable just as we have with smoking. We need a similar campaign to convince people that this is wrong," said Tim Lang, the Government's natural resources commissioner. Phil Woolas, the environment minister, added that the amount of money spent on mineral water "borders on being morally unacceptable".

Their comments come as new research shows that drinking a bottle of water has the same impact on the environment as driving a car for half a mile, (and can cost as much). Conservation groups and water providers have started a campaign against the multi-million pound industry.

As consumers start to come to terms with hard economic times, an environmental group in Washington has offered a suggestion for saving money: Get your water from the faucet not a bottle.

The Environmental Working Group released a report recently that asserted that some bottled waters were "no different than tap water." And it found fertilizer residue, pain medication and other chemicals in some major brands.

While a lot of bottled water may be as pure as promised in those alluring commercials, the real problem is telling which is which. Public water supplies are regulated by the federal government. Not so for bottled water. The Food and Drug Administration does have some oversight, but bottled water is not very high on their long list of priorities.

The International Bottled Water Association, which represents most of the industry, has voluntary standards to make sure there are no contaminants. The association encourages (but does not require) bottlers to release pertinent information about what's in their water when consumers call and ask.

Among the states, so far only California has set strict standards to make sure carcinogens and other contaminants are not being sold as something purer than that mountain stream usually pictured on the labels.

Many researchers recommend that people worried about water contaminants drink ordinary water from the faucet with a carbon filter.
 

Real cost of bottled water
Tap water comes from underground pipes, while the manufacture, distribution and disposal of bottled water requires much more energy and fuel.

While the WWF does acknowledge that bottled water is generally safer in areas where tap water is contaminated, it says boiling or filtering local water is a cheaper and more sustainable alternative.

The long-term solution, it argues, is to clean up municipal water supplies.

But in the meantime, the conservationists are fighting an uphill battle.

The bottled water market is booming. It is the fastest growing drinks industry in the world and shows no signs of drying up. 

                                                             




Back to Articles Page