Bottled Water vs Tap Water?

[SF0]

I don't recall the last time I got sick drinking bottled water. Personally I'd take a bottle of arrowhead and the like over drinking a glass of some tap water in certain cities.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/ap_on_bi_...d_water_vs_tap

By EMILY FREDRIX, AP Food Industry Writer Emily Fredrix, Ap Food Industry Writer – Wed Jul 8, 7:41 pm ET

Consumers know less about the water they pay dearly for in bottles than what they can drink almost for free from the tap because the two are regulated differently, congressional investigators and nonprofit researchers say in new reports.

Both the Government Accountability Office and the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization, recommend in reports released Wednesday that bottled water be labeled with the same level of information municipal water providers must disclose.

The researchers urged Americans to make bottled water "a distant second choice" to filtered tap water because there isn't enough information about bottled water. The working group recommends purifying tap water with a commercial filter, however.

Both reports were released at a congressional subcommittee Wednesday morning.

Bottled water — an industry worth about $16 billion in sales last year — has been suffering lately as colleges, communities and some governments take measures to limit or ban its consumption. As employers, they are motivated by cost savings and environmental concern because the bottles often are not recycled.

Bottled water sales were growing by double-digit percentages for years and were helping buoy the U.S. beverage industry overall. But they were flat last year, according to trade publication Beverage Digest.

Beverage Digest editor John Sicher said some consumers are turning on the tap during the recession simply because it's cheaper.

From 1997 to 2007, the amount of bottled water consumed per person in the U.S. more than doubled, from 13.4 gallons to 29.3 gallons, the GAO report said.

The issue before a subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee was less about waste and water quality concerns and more about the mechanics of regulating bottled water.

As a food product, bottled water is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration and required to show nutrition information and ingredients on its labels. Municipal water is under the control of the Environmental Protection Agency.

The two agencies have similar standards for water quality, but the FDA has less authority to enforce them, the GAO said, and the environmental agency requires much more testing.

Subcommittee chairman Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., said the subcommittee was requesting information Wednesday from a dozen bottled water companies on their water sources, treatment methods and two years' results of contaminant testing. It was not immediately clear which companies were being contacted.

"Consumers may not realize that many regulations that apply to municipalities responsible for tap water do not apply to companies that produce bottled water," he said in statements opening the hearing.

The GAO noted the FDA has yet to set standards for DEHP, one of several chemicals known as phthalates that are found in many household products, while the EPA limits the presence of phthalates in tap water.

In a survey of officials in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, the GAO found they think consumers are misinformed about bottled water.

"Many replied that consumers often believe that bottled water is safer or healthier than tap water," according to the GAO report.

The Washington, D.C.-based Environmental Working Group said in its report that consumers do not get enough information to determine which water is best for them.

Both groups said some bottled water brands include the same information required of tap water providers on either labels or company Web sites.

The GAO called for more research but said the FDA should start by requiring that bottled water labels tell consumers where to find out more.

Community water systems must distribute annual reports about their water's source, contaminants and possible health concerns.

Consumers should know where all their water comes from, how it is treated and what is found in it, said Richard Wiles, senior vice president for policy and communications for the Environmental Working Group.

"If the municipal tap water systems can tell their customers this information, you would think that bottled water companies that charge 1,000 times more for this water could also let consumers know the same thing," he told The Associated Press.

The bottled water industry's trade group, the International Bottled Water Association, planned to testify Wednesday that the product, — subject to the same regulation as other soft drinks, teas, juices and other beverages — is safe. Additional standards apply for bottled water products labeled as "purified water" or "spring water," among other labels, because they must prove a connection to those sources, according to planned testimony from Joseph Doss, president and chief executive of the International Bottled Water Association.

Doss said consumers can learn about bottled water by contacting the company, reading its Web site and visiting sites run by state governments.

State safeguards for bottled water often exceed the federal, though they are less stringent than for tap water, the GAO wrote.

The trade group declined to comment on the reports before they are released.

[Longstreet]

This situation has been going on for some time as there is no real definition of what 'spring' water really is. This article looks at both Coca Cola's Desani and Pepsi's Aquafina bottled water.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/07/27...aquafina.reut/

FWIW, you are better off to buy a reusable bottle (BPA free - I prefer stainless steel, but am sure there are reasons for not using these too) and fill it with good old tap water. I usually make a weak ice tea with honey as I find it to be more refreshing than water. Just watch out for black tea as it tends to stain your teeth over time.

[Sdiver]

This argument, has been going on for quit awhile now.

Tapping into our Precious Bodily Fluids.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjL9g3s6Fro

[NoRoadtrippin]

My father and I have had the ongoing opinion/joke now for a few years that bottled water is the biggest scam ever perpetrated on the American consumer.

At many points along the way, we were paying more for a bottle of what is indeed essentially tap water than we would for a gallon of gasoline. Marketing is amazing.

Of course since I am also a bit of a hippy, I am a fan of the transition many are making to reusable bottles for their water. Too much trash from those others.

[Richard]

My wife drinks bottled water - I drink tap water - she thinks tap water isn't as good - but she's never had to drink water treated with iodine tablets from a canteen when one could get to water.

Richard's $.02

[csquare]

My wife drinks bottled water - I drink tap water - she thinks tap water isn't as good - but she's never had to drink water treated with iodine tablets from a canteen when one could get to water.

Concur Richard!

[Longstreet]

My father and I have had the ongoing opinion/joke now for a few years that bottled water is the biggest scam ever perpetrated on the American consumer.

At many points along the way, we were paying more for a bottle of what is indeed essentially tap water than we would for a gallon of gasoline. Marketing is amazing.

Good point. Bottled water is the modern version of the 'Pet Rock' from the 1970's.

[Utah Bob]

Bottled water is convenient. Grab it and go. Most people are lazy. If I need to take water with me I'll fill a bottle from the tap. The old "8 glasses a day" mantra is BS anyway.

[SF0]

We live in an area that has some of the best tap water I've ever tasted. Comes from a natural spring. We only purchase bottled water for the bottles to re-use.

[Defender968]

Personally I always drink tap water filtered through a Britta or the filter on the fridge. Bottled water has always tasted strange to me.

It always kind of amuses me that people spend 1.29 at gas stations for a bottle of water, when you can take a Nalgine or other bottle in and fill it with ice and water from the soda machine for nothing. I fill mine up on nearly every long trip when I get gas, I just ask the cashier and in the past 10+ years have never been turned down.

[BoyScout]

After living on the park where a good chunk of my AO gets its water, I refuse to drink it. Not because of the issue of the lake's color, clay red since it is man made, but there are other reasons, like it "turning over" and killing the taste. Last well water I had was sulfur water and it tastes better than the tap at time.

Originally Posted by Richard

- but she's never had to drink water treated with iodine tablets from a canteen when one could get to water.

Richard's $.02

or 'iron water' or water from tanks that had a tad to much bleach poured in... It won't hurt me, but my insides will be nice and white. The taste is awful.
I buy bottled water and then recycle the bottles with tap water until the bottle is unusable.
AM

[Sten]

I think it is as funny that people pay 1.29 for water with sugar and Carmel color in it.

[Razor]

Originally Posted by Sten

I think it is as funny that people pay 1.29 for water with sugar and Carmel color in it.

High fructose corn syrup, caffeine and phosphoric acid. If I'm going to be unhealthy, I want my caffeine and phos acid.

[bluebb]

with hops, barley and wheat otherwise its tap for me.

Blue