Bottled Or Tap? Watering Down The Choices

By Nancy K. Crevier

There is a growing sense that people are beginning to feel tapped out in a number of ways buy bottled water.

When bottled water was first marketed by Vittel Grand Source in France in the mid-1850s, it was a symbol of wealth and privilege. Cold springs were touted for medicinal healing properties and the pure water was available only by attending one of these cold spring spas or by purchasing it in large, glass containers, an option not feasible for most people of that time.

But in 1968, Vittel introduced the first plastic bottle and the mass-marketed bottled water industry began a climb that has rapidly escalated with the development of the polyethylene terephtalate (PET) recyclable plastic bottle that hit the stands in the mid-1980s. Marketing turned from medicinal appeal to that of vitality and health and has made bottled water sales second only to carbonated beverages for bottled products sold in the United States. According to the Beverage Marketing Corp, the intake of bottle water has doubled in the past decade. A recent Yanklovich Partners for Water Association survey reported that Americans consume 2.3 eight-ounce servings of bottled water every day — that is, more than four million gallons a day.

A survey of 3,238 adults over the age of 18 conducted by Harris Interactive® and reported in a June 28 article at bottledwater.org showed bottled water to be the number one choice bottled beverage most associated with a healthy lifestyle. Fifty-eight percent of those polled selected bottled water over milk and other packaged beverages.

Certainly, America’s awareness of a healthier, natural, and high-energy lifestyle and an obeisance to convenience over the past 25 years has contributed to the steadily increasing consumption of packaged water. The young, the rich, and the famous have made bottled water a multibillion dollar style statement. For some, a bottle of (the right) water has become as much an accessory as a Coach bag.

But as environmental sensitivity returns to fashion, people are beginning to wonder if that handy 20 ounces of water is the politically correct way to increase their water intake. In some instances, water is bottled and shipped halfway around the world, using more water to produce the packaging than the bottle contains, and requiring a huge amount of fossil fuel to carry the product through air, across water, and over land before it is shelved and sold. Nor are the majority of PET bottles recycled, adding to the piles of waste that clog landfills nationwide. The wisdom of gulping down water from bottles that are made of plastics whose safety frequently is questioned, albeit regularly refuted, is a conundrum for those pursuing optimum health, as well.

Buying bottled water can be an expensive proposition, as well, with prices falling between 49 cents and $3 for a bottle of water. Various website sources estimate that Americans spend between $10 and $15 billion dollars a year on bottled water, while the cost of a glass of water from the tap is negligible. It is enough to leave an unpalatable taste in the mouth.

New York City has recently started a “Get Your Fill” campaign to encourage residents to drink tap water and get away from the environmentally unfriendly PET bottles. Refillable bottles have been handed out to those who desire the convenience of having a bottle of water at hand. Nalgene, the creator of refillable water bottles, is promoting its “Refill Not Landfill” campaign online. It may be the start of a whole “back to the tap” sort of movement.

What Comes Out

Of The Tap

Bottled water versus tap water is a matter of choice, said Kevin Moran, manager of United Water Connecticut that provides water to households along the Main Street corridor of Newtown. In many cases, though, said Mr Moran, bottled water is merely tap water run through a reverse osmosis filtration system, negating that image of burbling springs of purity that most people envision when opting for a bottle of water. But if people are choosing bottled water because they believe it is healthier or cleaner than that from the tap, Newtown residents who get their water from United Water Connecticut should not worry, said Mr Moran.

“The water industry is highly regulated, so tap water is meeting all of these standards. We try to keep our water out of the ground pure,” he said. The water is slightly chlorinated in order to maintain that purity, said Mr Moran, but United Water Connecticut does not add other additives, such as fluoride, to the water. “Our decision to not fluoridate the water was made after considering the many pros and cons to fluoridation. We have never been asked by state or town health departments to look into fluoridation of the water,” he said. Not only would fluoridating water add slightly to the customer’s cost, but it would add another layer of regulation to the process of providing high quality water from the two Pootatuck aquifers in the Sand Hill Plaza area from which the water comes. “Fluoride is a chemical that has to be done in precise dosing,” he noted.

Water testing follows a long list of parameters, Mr Moran said, and is done on a regular basis by United Water Connecticut. “The water is tested annually for volatile organic chemicals and is tested for synthetic organic chemicals, as well. Six tests per month at varying locations are made for bacterial content and for physical qualities of the water, which include odor and clarity. “The sample is set up by the state health department,” Mr Moran said, with the many tests conducted monthly, quarterly, annually, and over a five-year time period as required by the state.

What gives bottled waters their individual, “boutique” tastes are the different levels of minerals and sodium found in the water source, and whether those qualities are filtered out or not, Mr Moran explained. Personal preference determines whether a person indulges in the costly habit of buying bottled water or simply turns on the tap for company water or water from a home well.

Mr Moran describes Newtown water as moderately hard, but believes there have been no complaints about that quality. “It is pretty good tasting water,” he said. “Fortunately, in Newtown there have not been contamination problems that communities in other parts of the state or country have had to deal with. The Pootatuck aquifer has been very stable.”

Nor does he believe it is necessary to install inline water filters to purify water coming into the home. “A filter can remove the trace amounts of chlorine that are in the water, but I think only very sensitive individuals would need to do that,” he said.

Testing For

Contaminants

For those consumers who question the quality of their tap water, whether from a home well or a water company, Aqua Environmental Lab, located on Church Hill Road in Newtown, offers testing to rule out contaminants that may creep in. “If you have city water,” said Karin Helsel, lab manager at Aqua Environmental Lab, “you really don’t need to test for bacteria or radon. But traces of lead from pipes leading into the house can contaminate the water. Most people who come to us are testing their well water for chemical, bacterial, or radon contamination.”

According to a US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report, “Radon is a cancer-causing natural radioactive gas that you can’t see, smell, or taste. Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer among nonsmokers. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in America and claims about 20,000 lives annually.”

“More and more people are testing for radon in Newtown,” Ms Helsel said. “The EPA has not set a safe limit for radon, and you can’t detect it through sight or smell, so we do get a lot of requests for that, especially when people are buying a new home. But we don’t find much evidence of it, really.”

People also come to the company complaining that their tap water “smells bad.” This may be due to bacteria in the water, or could be due to an excess of manganese in the water, she said. Bacterial levels can fluctuate depending upon the amount of rain received in the area, said Ms Helsel, and is one reason the lab recommends yearly testing of water for bacteria.

“If you test your water and know it’s good, there’s no need for bottled water,” is Ms Helsel’s opinion.

Bottled water is regulated as a food by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Stringent standards regulate the production, labeling, definitions, and safety of bottled water. Specific guidelines define what is “artesian water,” “mineral water,” or “spring water,” for example, and any vitamins or minerals added to the water must be listed on the label. Periodically, the FDA collects and analyzes bottled water for contaminants. So it would seem that bottled water is as safe a choice as city water.

However, the National Resources Defense Council, a national environmental action organization, notes on its website nrdc.org that while city-supplied tap water is forbidden by state and federal regulations to contain any level of E. coli or fecal coliform bacteria, FDA bottled water regulations are not as strict. Certain levels of contamination are considered acceptable. Arsenic, nitrates, and other contaminants have shown up in random tests conducted by the NRDC on bottled water, although mainly in quantities considered below allowable standards.

Over the years, though, the question of whether or not chemicals from PET plastic bottles leach into the water has come up time and again. In one sample of bottled water, the NRDC did find that it contained the chemical phthalate to be twice the level of tap water standards. Phthalate is a carcinogen that leaches from plastic, as can other chemicals.

Pure Water

Dr Eugene Cayer, a Newtown doctor of chiropractory, is a huge proponent of drinking water. After all, the human body is 71 percent water. “People should take in half of their body weight in ounces of water every day,” said Dr Cayer. It is a goal that the majority of his patients do not achieve easily, so he is not completely opposed to bottled water. Having bottled water handy can be a positive factor in drinking enough water. “What you are looking for is pure water,” he said. Acceptable drinking water can be obtained with tap water, too, said Dr Cayer, if proper filtration is provided. Knowing what is in the bottled water a consumer selects is very important, he warned.

Dr Cayer also cautioned against drinking water from bottles made of #1 plastics, and feels that leaching of chemicals from plastics into food or water is exacerbated when the plastic is heated. “Keep plastic bottles out of the sun,” he recommended, “and never microwave plastic containers.” Dr Cayer suggested that “the harder the plastic, the better,” was a good rule to follow when consuming anything from plastic packaging. Newer, refillable bottles made of hard plastic are recommended and one-time use bottles should not be refilled, in order to avoid bacterial contamination.

A September 2003 article from the Journal of the American Dental Association raised the concern that by sidestepping community water fluorodation and the increased use of unfluoridated bottled water that Americans were missing decay preventive benefits of fluoride. Local dentist Dr Byson Filbert has not seen that to be a problem with his patients, however.

“We encourage the use of PolyViFlor from infancy until about age 3 or 4. Then, typically, topical applications of fluoride are recommended until age 13,” said Dr Filbert. “After that, fluoride is not really an issue. I don’t see drinking bottled water as a huge detriment to tooth health so long as kids visit the dental office every six months.”

What Dr Filbert is keeping an eye on so far as bottled waters go, though, is the newest marketing techinique of adding minerals, vitamins, and flavorings to water. “What they are adding to bottled water may be more of an issue than how much bottled water people drink. I’m kind of watching to see what the American Dental Association has to say on that,” said Dr Filbert.

Water is a necessity, but bottled water may not be the necessity marketing has led people to believe. As the desire for instant gratification and convenience give way to environmentally and politically friendly choices, tapping into tap water may prove to be the next “wave” of fashion.