Bottled water use on the rise.

Bottled water is the fastest growing major U.S. beverage catagory. Americans are increasingly turning to bottled water, and millions are paying 240 to 10,000 times more per gallon of bottled water than for a gallon of tap water.

Bottled water has grown remarkably for decades. The market for bottled water continues to expand at a record pace even after it claimed a spot as the second largest commercial beverage category by volume in the country. While imports and sparkling waters continue to sell, domestic non-sparkling water is the largest and strongest segment of the U.S. bottled water industry. It consistently outperforms other competitors.

The reasons for increased use of bottled water are varied.

• Many consumers believe it to be healthy, safe and, in some instances, superior to tap and other sources of water.
• Concern about obesity grows more widespread and intense, and bottled water's calorie-free content appears attractive to consumers.

• Compared to other ready-to-drink beverages, it is relatively inexpensive and is becoming increasing affordable due to increased competition.
• It is a versatile product, suitable any time of day. Further, it need not be kept cold, like soft drinks or juice, or warm, like coffee or tea.
• Consumers are interested in healthy, low-calorie products that have benefits beyond just refreshment.

But is bottled water really any safer than tap water?

Bottled water no safer than ordinary tap water.

In 2005, ABC's 20/20 investigated bottled water. Producers took five bottles of national brands of bottled water and a sample of tap water from a drinking fountain in the middle of New York City. They then sent them to microbiologist Aaron Margolin of the University of New Hampshire to test for bacteria such as e. coli, which can make you sick. The microbiologist concluded, "There was actually no difference between the New York City tap water and the bottled waters that we evaluated." Many scientists have run similar tests and have consistently found that tap water to be of the same quality as bottled waters costing 500 times more.

Did you hear the news from PepsiCo? PepsiCo makes Aquafina, and in July 2007 it admitted the terrible secret of bottled water distributors. It's bottled water comes from the faucet. Yes, Aquafina is just processsed tap water wrapped in fancy package. And Aquafina's principal source for its bottled water is the Detroit River. Click to see news story.

"It's a great marketing gimmick: A bottle of water with a clean, blue label showing images of snow capped mountains and the claim, 'Pure water, perfect taste.' "That's the image created by Pepsico's Aquafina brand of water, and many consumers leap to the incorrect conclusion that Aquafina is sourced from mountain spring water. In reality, Aquafina comes from tap water." ~Mike Adams NewsTarget.com Aug.8, 2007

CNN: "Pepsi says Aquafina is tap water" July 27, 2007. Pepsi-Cola announced that the the labels of its Aquafina brand bottled water will be changed to make it clear the product is tap water. The new bottles will say, "The Aquafina in this bottle is purified tap water that originates from a public water source," or something similar. Coca-Cola does not have plans to change the labeling on its Dasani brand bottled water despite the fact that the water also comes from a public water supply. ~CNN's Katy Byron

After a four year study, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) concluded "there is no assurance that just because water comes out of a bottle, it is any cleaner or safer than water from the tap." The New York City-based action group added that an estimated 25 percent of bottled water is "really just tap water in a bottle—sometimes further treated, sometimes not." Others estimate as much as 40 percent of bottled water comes from public water sources.

From its study, the NRDC concluded that contamination posing immediate risks to healthy people is rare. However, it also warned that blanket reassurances that bottled water is totally safe and pure—as made by the bottled water industry—are false.

The study found that one fourth (22 percent) of the bottled water brands tested were contaminated at levels violated strict enforcable state limits for the state in which they were purchased, in at least one sample. Almost one fifth (17 percent) of the waters tested exceeded uneforceable sanitary guidelines for microbiological purity in at least one test.

In all, at least one sample of one third of the waters tested (33 percent) exceeded a state enforceable standard for bacterial or chemical contamination, a nonenforceable guideline for micro- biological purity, or both.

Contaminants Found in Bottled Water
22% violated enforceable limits, 17% violated guidelines. Some waters exceeded both, so the total that violated one or the other was 33%

Even 4 percent exceeded the weak federal standards in at least one test. Of these, half violated the FDA coliform-bacteria rule (coliforms are bacteria that can be harmless themselves but may indicate the presence of fecal contaminates and disease-carrying organisms in the water), and the other half violated the FDA standard for flouride.

Some bottled water labels remain misleading to consumers

The Institute of Medicine, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences, found in a 1992 study that deceptive bottled water labeling was a widespread practice. State authorities were exasperated over FDA inaction in the face of frequent statements and vignettes indicating or implying that the bottled water

• was far purer than tap water or
• came from specific sources or
• had purity levels that may not have been justified.

Many of these practices continue. For example, FDA rules allow bottlers to call their product "spring water"—which seems to carry cachet with consumers as being especially natural and pure—even though it may be brought to the surface using a pumped well, and even though it may be treated with chemicals. FDA merely requires that the geologic formation that is tapped by the well must come to the surface somewhere, sometimes, to allow the water pumped to the surface in a well to be called spring water.

• "Spring water" (with mountains and a lake on the label) actually from an industrial parking lot next to a hazardous waste site, ruled not misleading.
• "Alasika™ - Alaska Premium Glacier Drinking Water: Pure Glacier Water From The Last Unpolluted Frontier, Bacteria Free" apparently from a public water supply.

Even Aquafina's promise to clarify its source of water was short-lived. In July 2007, PepsiCo's spokeswoman Michelle Naughton said, "If this helps clarify the fact that the water originates from public sources, then it's a reasonable thing to do." While PepsiCo removed the claim "Pure Water, Perfect Taste" from its label, it only replaced the phrase with the words "Pure Refreshment."

As to identifying the source of the water, PepsiCo backed away from its promise and only removed the cryptic letters P.W.S. (meaning Public Water Source) from its label. It added nothing to the label to identify the water to be from public water sources (including public water sources using water from the Detroit River).

"Companies that promote bottled water as being safer than tap water are defrauding the American Public." ~U.S. FDA

Industry makes false claims

Bottled water marketing seeks to emphasize the supposed purity of bottled water. It frequently contrasts "pure" and "protected" bottled water with "inconsistent" or unpredictable tap water quality. A leading industry consultant is quoted as stating, "Water bottlers are selling a market perception that water is 'pure and good for you.'"

Among the false claims made by the bottled water industry are the following:

• Bottled water contains "no" chlorine or harmful chemicals. Bottled water does contain chlorine and harmful chemicals. In fact, the NRDC study showed that up 55 percent of bottled water has some form of contaminants.
• Bottled water is always high quality, whereas tap water is of inconsistent quality. Bottled water in many cases contains contaminants and as much as 40 percent of the bottled water sold in the U.S. comes from tap water. Moreover, most tap water is required to be monitored more often than bottled water.
• No waterborne illness has been traced to bottled water. There have been waterborn disease outbreaks traced to bottled water. For example, a bottled water cholera outbreak in U.S. territory in the Pacific. Other outbreaks have been documented as well.

• Cryptosporidium and giardia cannot get into bottled water. There is no evidence that bottled water is truly immune from cryptosporidium and giardia unless it is fully protected and treated with EPA-CDC recognized best available technologies, and much bottled water does not receive this treatment.
• Imported bottled water must meet all U.S. rules. The FDA's Good Manufacturing Practices, source approval, and source-water-testing requirements apply at the source or bottling facility and are impossible for the FDA to enforce when such facilities are outside the United States.

These claims may not be the most exaggerated of those made by the bottled water industry, but they are troubling because all of them were made by the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA), the leading industry trade association, all of the statements are clearly false.

Bottled water raises health and environmental concerns

Increasingly, there are growing health concerns about the use of bottled water. The issues include the leaching of toxins from the plastic bottle as well as the physical characteristics of the water, including pH (acidity) and the presence or absence of minerals.

The Plastic Problem

Most "disposable" water bottles are made from the type of plastic known as PET or PETE, polyethylene terephthalate. This type of plastic is also used for soft drinks, juice, detergent, cleaner and peanut butter containers.

Studies have shown that chemicals from plastic bottles can leach into the water. The longer water is stored in plastic bottles, the higher the concentration of a potentially harmful chemicals. The amounts of some chemicals have been shown to double after sitting for six months. Heating or scrubbing the plastics also causes leaching.

The major concern is phthalates, chemical agents used to soften plastic. Antimony has also been found to leach from plastic water bottles. Antimony is also a potentially toxic trace element. Chemically similar to lead, it is a white metallic element that in small doses can cause nausea, dizziness and depression. In large doses, it can be fatal.

These chemicals may be in your water, but you would never know because the water companies are not required to test for them. Conveniently, the position taken by the bottled water industry is that the amounts of the chemicals are so small that they would not affect a person's health.

The health effects from drinking water containing these chemicals are not known. However, surveys of adult bodies show evidence of polycarbonates and other chemicals in human tissue.

Aciditiy Issue

Acidity is another health concern with bottled water. In tests conducted on bottled water by Dr. Robert Young, he discovered most bottled waters were highly acidic. (Several did pass the test such as Evian and Fuji.) While some people may enjoy the taste of low pH acidic water, some health advocates and practitioners suggest that acidic drinks--including acidic bottled water--contribute to increasing the body's vulnerability to disease.

Coca-Cola's bottled water, Dasani, is highly acidic due to its processing. Coca-Cola produces Dasani using tap water from local municipal water supplies. It then employs reverse osmosis to remove all impurities (including naturally occurring minerals such as calcium and magnesium), and then adds Epsom salt (probably to increase the pH), potassium chloride, and common salt. Potassium chloride is a chemical used in to stop the heart in death by lethal injection!

More importantly, both bottled and tap water have high ORP numbers. That means bottled and tap water are not good for your health.

Comparison of Popular Bottled, Reverse Osmosis, and Tap Waters with Kangen Water Brand/Type of Water pH OPR $/Liter Aquafina (Pepsi) 5.2 +542 $1.92 Dasani (Coke) 4.9 +521 $1.89 Evian 8.0 +404 $2.25 Penta 4.2 +613 $2.75 Perrier 3.4 +457 $3.87 Zaqua! & Essentia 9 +227 $2.95 360º (Whole Foods) 6.2 +413 $1.78 Miracle II Neutralizer 9.5 -40 $23.00 Reverse Osmosis 6.5 +586 $0.03 Tap Water 7.2 +622 N/A Kangen Water 9.5 -915 $0.06

pH & ORP readings can change slightly from sample to sample
Kangen Water sample analyzed from LeveLuk SD 501 model from Spokane, WA
Tap water sample is a composite average from three cities

The debate: bottled vs. tap

"Chemicals, contaminants, pollution, price: new reasons to rethink what you drink and beware of bottled water." Click here to read the article.

Remember the drinking fountain, that once ubiquitous, and free, source of H2O? It seems quaint now. Instead, bottled water is everywhere, in offices, airplanes, stores, homes and restaurants across the country. We consumed over eight billion gallons of the stuff in 2006, a 10 percent increase from 2005. It's refreshing, calorie-free, convenient to carry around, tastier than some tap water and a heck of a lot healthier than sugary sodas. But more and more, people are questioning whether the water, and the package it comes in, is safe, or at least safer than tap water—and if the convenience is worth the environmental impact.

So begins Readers Digest's Special Report "How Safe Is Your Bottled Water?" Bottled water has received a lot of attention in the news. Why shouldn't it? It garners a lot of interest. In the same month that the Readers Digest Special

Click to read article and comments!

Report was published, Yahoo! also had a news article on its webpage. Although only a few paragraphs, over 2000 comments were posted in one day.

ABC News also has reported on bottled water. See its stories.
Click to see "Bottled Water, Wasted Energy?"	Click to see "$75 Bottled Water."

Reverse Osmosis and Distilled Water

Some water enthusiasts champion distilled water or the use of reverse osmosis to obtain "pure water." Water bottlers may employ these methods and advertise their brand as "purified" water. Coca-cola, for instance, employs reverse osmosis to purify its Dasani water before adding salt and other substances for taste.

Reverse osmosis is a separation process that uses pressure to force water through a membrane that retains the solute--anything that has dissoved into the water--on one side and allows the pure solvent--or pure H20--to pass to the other side.

Distilled water is water that has virtually all of its impurities removed through distillation. Distillation involves boiling the water and re-condensing the steam into a clean container, leaving most if not all solid contaminants behind.

Both reverse osmosis and distallation are very good at removing contaminants such as chlorine, fluoride, and bacteria. Both processes strip the water of everything that has dissolved into the water. The idea is to create "pure water."

Four reverse osmosis pumps remove nitrogen and other impurities from Julesburg, Colo.'s well water. The treated water would leach minerals from the town's ductile iron water pipes, so it must be blended with well water to restore its pH balance.

But there isn't any such thing as pure liquid water. That is one of chemistry's dirty little secrets. Distilled water is a very dilute solution of hydroxide and hydronium ions, because (like many other solvents) water reacts with itself. Distilled water also reacts with atmospheric carbon dioxide, which prings the pH of distilled water in an open-air container down to about 5.8. The same thing occurs with water that has undergone reverse osmosis.

The biggest problem, however, with distilled water and water that has undergone reverse osmosis is that both processes create de-mineralized water. As mentioned above, both processes are good at removing contaminants because the strip the water of everything--contaminants and natural minerals such as calcium and magnesium.

A couple of very negative things happen when we consume water that has been stripped of its natural minerals. First, because de-mineralized water contains more hydrogen it is an acid solution, with a pH below seven. Any time we consume an acid substance, our body will pull minerals from our teeth and bones to produce bicarbonate in an effort to neutralize the acid. Second, it has been proven that when body fluids are more acid than alkaline the production of free radicals goes up, increasing cancer risks.

Dr. Zolton Rona, author of "The Joy of Health" states that "the longer one consumes distilled water, the more likely the development of mineral deficiencies and an acid state." Dr. Paavo Airola, cancer expert and author of How to Get Well and Cancer... Causes, Prevention and Healing also reports that "long term consumption of distilled water eventually results in multiple mineral deficiencies."