Janie Boschma“Hitting the bottle”
Water is essential to human survival. According to the medical community, the human body is made of more than 70 percent water and can only survive three days without consuming any water. Around campus students can be seen toting water bottles.
Sophomore Kate Gargo said she normally drinks plenty of water. In high school, she usually bought two bottles of water a day, she said.
Sophomore Kiersen Gordon said she normally drinks bottled water because her parents buy some for her every time she goes home.
“I’m really bad at keeping myself hydrated,” Gordon said. “Every time I go home, no matter how much I protest, my dad buys me some.”
The Beverage Marketing Corporation found that bottled water is the fastest growing drink of choice in the nation, and estimates that bottle water will be second in sales only to soft drinks within the next five years.
Last year, Americans spent $11 billion dollars on 8.3 billion gallons of bottled water, an increase of 3.3 billion gallons since 2001, according to the Earth Policy Institute. Some recent studies suggest there may be health and environmental advantages to drinking tap water instead of bottled water.
Tap that
The Beverage Marketing Corporation attributes the sharp increase in sales of bottled water to a number of different factors, including advertising that suggests bottled water may be more pure or cleaner than tap.
People can feel safe drinking tap water because municipal water systems are subject to the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. Water is constantly tested for harmful substances and regulations prohibit trace contamination of E. coli and other bacteria. Municipal water systems are also required to test for parasites and disinfect water.
Gargo said she doesn’t notice a difference in taste between bottled water and tap water. She said she feels tap water is just as safe to drink as bottled water.
“Bottled water is essentially glorified tap water,” she said.
One advantage of drinking tap water is the benefit of added fluoride. Fluoride is an element which can prevent tooth decay; like cavities, and build strong teeth, according to the American Dental Association. Tap water contains added fluoride but the majority of bottled waters do not. This could pose a problem in children who need the fluoride while their teeth are still developing.
Bottle it!
Is there a quality difference between bottled water and tap water? Evidence is conflicting.
Microbiologist Aaron Margolin at the University of New Hampshire tested five popular brands of bottled water and New York City tap water for harmful bacteria such as E. coli and found there was no difference between the cleanliness of the bottled waters and the tap water.
However, the Natural Resources Defense Council conducted a four study and tested more than 1,000 bottles of 103 brands of bottled water and found that although the majority was high quality and safe for consumption, about one-third contained contamination, including traces of synthetic organic chemicals, bacteria and arsenic. The study suggests the regulation standards to assure the safety or purity of bottled water are inadequate.
Subject to FDA rules, makers of bottled water aren’t required to test bottled water for bacteria and chemical contamination as frequently as municipalities are required to test tap water, according to the NRDC. The FDA also allows for some contamination in bottled water and has no regulations requiring makers to disinfect water of test for parasites.
However, it is reasonable to find small amounts of contamination in both tap water and bottled water and the presence of contaminants does not necessarily indicate a health risk, according to the FDA. Still, the FDA does warn people with compromised immune systems may be at risk when drinking bottled water.
Bottle Basics
The type of bottle can make all the difference, according to a recent article in National Geographic. Both the safety of using single-use or reusable bottles all depends on the bottle and how it’s cared for, according to the article.
The designs of most single use water bottles, however, usually contain many ridges and provide more surface area for growth. Reusable water bottles need proper cleaning and time to air dry to prevent bacteria growth, the article advises. Scratches on reusable water bottle can also lead to increased bacteria growth, so reusable water bottles should be replaced periodically.
Bottled water should be treated as any other packaged food product, especially after a bottle has been open, according the American Chemistry Council’s Plastic Division. The bottle is not designed for long-term use and the chemicals that make up the plastic bottle may start to break down after a while, which could lead to chemicals in the water. The ACA Plastic Division also recommends not drinking bottled water if it has been exposed to high temperatures, like if a bottle were left in a car, because of the risk of bacteria.
Environmental effects
Choosing to drink bottled water or tap water may be personal preference, but drinking bottled water does have a significant impact on the environment, according to the Earth Policy Institute.
The production of just the plastic bottles for bottled water consumed in the United States needs more than 1.5 million barrels of oil, according to the Earth Policy Institute, which is the equivalent of fueling 100,000 cars annually. According to the NRDC, transporting imported bottled water from overseas to California emits 9,700 tons of carbon monoxide every year.
The environment is not effected just during the production process of manufacturing bottled water. Eight out 10 plastic water bottles in the United States end up in a landfill rather than a recycling center, according to the Container Recycling Institute. Gordon said that while she normally drinks bottled water, she is sure to recycle the bottles and always keeps one to refill with tap water until she buys more bottled water.
Gargo said the reason she switched from drinking bottled water to tap water was because of she wanted to be more environmentally responsible.
“It’s not like (tap water) tastes any different,” she said. “Drinking (bottled water) is a waste of money and a waste of resources.”
