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Should you drink tap water or bottled water? Read this article to find out the clear winner.
Tap Water or Bottled Water | Tap Water vs Bottled Water
Can you believe that there’s still a fight about choosing between tap water or bottled water? Believe it or not U.S. sales of bottled water rose 3.5 percent in 2010. According to industry figures sellers of the wet stuff are bringing in $6.4 billion a year! This is kind of crazy considering that most folks have wizened up and refuse to buy water from unknown sources or pay for something they can get at home.
There is a big push in this industry to make labels clearer. In a recent study, a nonprofit organization called the Environmental Working Group (these folks are great check out their site) took a look at 173 bottled water companies. I didn’t even know there were that many!
EWG searched for the source of the companies’ water supplies. Of the 173 companies examined 20% of them didn’t list their water source. This group included big names like Aquafina and Crystal Geyser. They also discovered that 33% of the companies didn’t even say how the water got treated. Yuck!
Tap Water or Bottled Water | Tap Water vs Bottled Water
They did crown some winners though. Of all those companies can you believe that only three of them got high marks from these folks? They found that Gerber Pure Purified Water, Penta Ultra-Purified Water, and Nestle Life Purified Water were the most transparent of the companies. The group graded these three suppliers the highest rank for treatment and water source information.
Check this out: the bottled water industry doesn’t disclose their sources because they don’t have to. Did you know that? The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) require community water suppliers in the United States to disclose their sources in an annual Consumer Confidence Report but they leave out bottlers. They don’t have to tell consumers where they got the drinking water, how they treated it, or if it even has any contaminants in the product! The companies can disclose the information if they want but don’t have to (except in California).
Sidenote: You can learn about the water in your area by reading the Consumer Confidence Report. If you pay a water bill you are normally mailed one annually. If not, look into it. It contains information you can use to make a better water filter choice.
Bottled water is graded to lower standards than tap water!
Tap Water or Bottled Water | Tap Water vs Bottled Water
Drink your water from the faucet and if you are scared about water purity invest in a water filter. Some of the carafe and faucet mounted models are pretty inexpensive. If you really want to be safe consider picking up a reverse-osmosis filter. Make sure everyone in your family has a water bottle and if you must pick up bottled water buy one with the source and purification method listed.
So, forget about all the marketing and hype. Get a water filter and invest in some reusable bottles.
Source Material:
“Bottled Doesn’t Mean Better” Consumer Reports Sept. 2011: Pg. 7. Print.
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