/24-7PressRelease/ - May 11, 2008 -- Over the past two decades the consumption of bottled water has risen, enormously. Americans spent over 11 billion last year consuming 8.3 billion gallons of bottled water making one of the most lucrative beverages sold in the United States. This is most obviously caused by first, the publics' perception that our municipal supply is unhealthful and second, a rise in a more health conscious America. The explosion in profits for companies like Dasani, Aquafina, Evian, Arrowhead & others have been a result in their success in giving us the perception that their water comes from pristine natural water sources like distant glaciers and crystal clear mountain springs. A study done by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) found that at least 25% and as much as 40% of bottled water comes from municipal water sources, including Dasani (coke), and Aquafina (pepsi). The (NRDC) also found that after testing 1000 bottles from just over 100 of the most popular brands 33% had bacterial contamination, synthetic organic chemicals including industrial solvents, and inorganic contaminants such as arsenic.
So who's to blame? Almost no one. The Federal Food and Drug Admin. (FDA) is responsible for the quality of the bottled water in this country and has "less than one person" in charge. Which isn't surprising when you learn that any water bottled and sold in the same state is exempt from FDA quality control and accounts for 60 -70% of the total water sold. Only 1 in 5 states regulate that water. So when it comes down to it, unless the water you buy explicitly labels its origin and lives up to its label, your most likely drinking filtered tap or water that comes from a similar source treated in a similar way. The (NRDC) investigated one major producer of "spring water" that actually came from an industrial parking lot next to a hazardous waste site.
The next big problem is not the quality of the water, it's the bottle! The bottle, sitting open for weeks is a breeding ground for bacteria. Even if the brand you choose is genuinely pure and health-friendly, the bottle it's been packaged in and the time it is stored before it's consumed can dramatically change its "purity." Water languishes in a plastic bottle at the manufacturer, at the warehouse, at the distributor and at the retailer which leaves ample time to leech out components from these plastic containers almost exclusively made from crude oil. These components are known cancer causing agents. This is a real concern.
The garbage is growing. It's reported that only 20% of all plastic bottles are recycled. And a new report by the Earth Policy Institute warns that people's thirst for bottled water is producing unnecessary garbage and consuming vast quantities of energy, even in areas where perfectly good drinking water is available on tap. The report, released by the (EPI), says global consumption of bottled water doubled between 1999 and 2004, reaching 41 billion gallons (154 billion liters) annually. Bottled water is often no healthier than tap water, but it can be 10,000 times more expensive, says Emily Arnold, a researcher with the Washington D.C.-based nonprofit. "At as much as $2.50 [U.S.] per liter [$10 U.S. a gallon], bottled water costs more than gasoline," she said. Most of this extra cost is driven by transportation and packaging. "Nearly a quarter of all bottled water crosses national borders to reach consumers," Arnold said. The report gives the example of one company in Helsinki, Finland, that in 2004 shipped 1.4 million bottles of Finnish tap water to Saudi Arabia—2,700 miles (4,300 kilometers) away. Well-known French brands Evian and Volvic export between 50 and 60 percent of their water to destinations across the globe. The report lists the U.S. as the world's biggest drinker of bottled water; Mexico has the second highest consumption, followed by China and Brazil. Italians drink the most per person, equivalent to about two glasses a day.
So what do we do? First, get a report of the current local municipal supply and decide if it satisfactory. If you know you don't want to drink it, look around, you'll see there is plenty of reverse osmosis water dispensing sites at local corner markets where you can get clean water for around 25 cents per gallon. That's a fraction of the cost of bottled water and is most likely of higher quality. The true solution lies in purchasing a multi-stage whole house filter. These filters should include a pre-filter, to remove dirt sediment, sand and other physical particles. A combination of filters to remove chemicals and bacteria should follow. Reverse Osmosis systems provides great tasting water without the salts that other filters leave, but do create a fair bit of waste water. Mineral supplementation is definitely required for person drinking only reverse osmosis water because many of the necessary minerals are removed. For a smaller budget, look for individual faucet water filters, refrigerator water filters, pitchers and gravity filters. These smaller budget filters work great for removing most of the chlorine and heavy metals and dramatically improves the taste. There are many great water filtration systems out there and it can be hard to chose which one is right for your particular situation. There are plenty of online retailers that carry products from the top manufactures. One I would recommend is freshwatersystems.com.
Fresh Water Systems is the leader in water filters, water filtration, purification and treatment with thousands of products by all the top manufactures.
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