Research Rough Draft - Bottled water or Tap water

Bottled Water Vs Tap Water

“Miracle in a bottle or just another tonic?” The debate over whether bottled or tap water is better has been the question on the minds of many consumers for sometime now. Bottled water has all but replaced the consumption of tap water. Consumers justify the consumption of bottled water with the rising concern for the quality of municipal (tap) water and the convenience of bottled water. With bottled water, a person never has to refill; they can just discard the empty bottle and open a new cold one. With tap water, a person must first find a suitable container then fill it up; all the while hoping that the water reaches that perfect temperature eliminating the need to locate ice.
The convenience of bottled water is not the question. What is the price of convenience to the consumer and the environment? Bottled water is becoming the next new age consumer product, one which consumers cannot do without. Bottled water has also become the second largest beverage consumed next to carbonated drinks. The bottled water industry has become a 15 billion dollar a year industry and is expected to grow. With this growth, concerns arise about the true benefit of bottled water. Although bottled water presents the illusion of a high quality healthy product, the benefit and production process has generated great concern because of the quality differences between bottled water and tap water, the production costs of bottled water compared to tap water, and damage to the environment. One of the major differences between bottled water and tap water is that the consumer can see where the bottled water comes from or the treatment technique used. With tap water, there are no such comforting words.
The quality of both tap water and bottled water are the concerns of two organizations: the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for tap water and the Food and Drug Administration for bottled water. The quality of particular water is complex than any label or lack of labeling could tell a consumer. Contaminants are present in all water sources around the world, but it is up to EPA and the FDA to determine what levels are safe for consumption. According to the EPA, the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) was passed in 1974 to “protect public health by regulating the nations public drinking water supply.” The SDWA has been amended twice since the original was written in 1974, once in 1986 and again in 1996. The SDWA authorizes the EPA to set quality standards for all public drinking water, these standards include: “assessing and protecting drinking water sources; protecting wells and collection systems; making sure water is treaded by qualified operators; ensuring the integrity of distribution systems; and making information available to the public on the quality of their drinking water.” (EPA) The EPA does not work alone in setting and regulating these standards; “states, tribes, drinking water utilities, communities and citizens all help to ensure that their tap water is of a safe for consumption.” (EPA) The EPA has two regulations governing drinking water: the National Primary Drinking Water Regulation, which is legally enforceable, and the National Secondary Drinking Water Regulation, which is non-enforceable. The primary standard regulates the levels of contaminants that are harmful to the public if consumed. Arsenic and Radon are just two of the many contaminants that naturally and unnaturally contaminate public water supplies. The EPA gives the states authority to impose the secondary regulation. This regulation deals with contaminants that effect a person cosmetically or the taste, odor, or color of the water. The primary and secondary standards apply to all public water systems. The quality control of both tap water and bottled water are similar in that both have to abide by strict regulations. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates bottled water as a food. The FDA utilizes the Code of Federal Regulations (21 CFR) to regulate the different aspects of bottled water. 21 CFR – 165.110[a] defines different types of bottled water, such as spring water and mineral water. 21 CFR – 165.110[b] establishes allowable levels for contaminants (chemical, physical, microbial and radiological) in bottled water. 21 CFR defines the some of the types of bottled waters as follows: Artesian water – water from a well tapping a confined aquifer in which the water levels stand at some height near the top of the aquifer. Mineral water – Water containing not less than 250 ppm total dissolved solids that originate from a geologically and physically protected underground water source. Purified water – Water that is produced by distillation, deionization, reverse osmosis or other suitable processes. Sparkling bottled water – water that, after treatment and possible replacement of carbon dioxide, contains the same amount of carbon dioxide that it had at emergence from the source. Spring water – water derived from an underground formation from which water flows naturally to the surface of the earth at an identified location. 21 CF – 165.110[b] regulates more than 70 different chemical contaminants. These standards include but are not limited to microbiological standards (coliform levels), physical standards (turbidity) and radiological standards (radium-226 and radium-228) (FDA). According to the FDA, if a water bottling company is in good standing with the FDA’s regulations, then inspections are not as frequent. The EPA regulates that municipal water sources must be checked on a annual basis. The standards for tap water and bottled water are meticulously regulated and thoroughly checked.
The cost of tap water can vary depending on the location and the type of water source available. The average household will pay about $.002 per gallon of tap water compared to between $1.00 and $4.00 per gallon for bottled water, the cost is more for imported water. The cost that a consumer pays for bottled water is not for the water alone, the price includes labeling costs, production cost and transportation cost; all of which makes bottled water very expensive. The cost of consuming bottled water is a choice that the consumer makes. The cost that the environment pays due to the production of bottled water is much steeper.
With the increasing concern over Global Warming, the production of bottled water is one area that could use some improvement. The environmental impact of producing bottled water greatly overshadows that of tap water. Other than the maintenance of the water treatment facilities, tap water has little impact on the environment. The bottled water industry produces billions of bottles of water a year and from the start of production until the end, the environment is paying a price. Fossil fuels are used not only for producing the plastic bottles, but also for the transportation of the product around the world; releasing greenhouse gases and polluting the air. Millions of tons of plastic are used to produce billions of plastic water bottles. Americans consume more then 30 billion bottles of water every year and according to the Container Recycling Institute 86% of empty plastic water bottles are not recycled Milne-Tyte). That is 25.8 billion empty plastic water bottles taking up landfill space and biodegrading for the next 1,000 years. With that amount of empty bottles, the toxic material polyethylene terephthalate (PET) used to produce the plastic bottles will affect future water supplies. The water industry is very aware of the environmental concerns with the production of the plastic used for their product.
In an article in USA Today, the CEO of Nestle Waters North America branch said “Our new Eco-Shape bottle uses the least plastic of any half-liter bottle on store shelves. We make 98% of our single-serve bottles, eliminating the need to truck 160,000 loads of empty bottles into our plants and saving 6.6million gallons of fuel per year”(EBSCO).
It seems that at least one company is trying to change the process and help the environment while helping themselves.
The debate over which is better tap water or bottled water can go on forever. The facts tell us that both bottled water and tap water are regulated to remove contaminants and both are safe for consumption. The facts tell us that some municipal water supplies in rural areas should only be used for non-domestic purposes. The cost we pay for bottled water is more than 100 times that of tap water. But as consumers, do we put a price on our health? We as consumers are given a choice between what seems to be a better product on the outside and what we know very little about. Thoughts of beautiful mountain water falls and crystal clear streams look and feel better than thoughts of underground mazes of pipes used for tap water. The environmental impact is the deciding factor in this debate. On one hand, you have tap water with no or little environmental impact and on the other hand, you have bottled water which effects the environment is many ways. Should the environmental responsibility be placed solely on the bottled water industry? With more than 86% of water bottles not being recycled who is to blame, the industry for trying to create environmentally safe bottles, or the consumer that does not recycle?



Works Cited

Breslau, Karen. "A Good Drink at The Sink." Newsweek 150.2 (02 July 2007): 14. Middle Search Plus. EBSCO. [Library name], [City], [State abbreviation]. 7 November 2007. <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mih&AN=25541563&site=src-live>.

Milne-Tyte, Ashley. “Environmental cost to bottled water.” Container Recycling Institute. 20 April 2006. 23 Oct. 2007 <http://container-recycling.org/mediafold/newsarticles/plastic/2006/4-20-Marketplace-EnviroCosts.htm>.

"Success of bottled water can spill into recycling efforts." USA Today (n.d.). Middle Search Plus. EBSCO. [Library name], [City], [State abbreviation]. 7 November 2007. <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mih&AN=J0E416740087007&site=src-live>.

EPA. Environmental Protection Agency. “Setting Standards for Safe Drinking Water.” 28 November 2006. 23 Oct.2007 <http://www.epa.gov/safewater/standards.html>.

FDA. Food and Drug Administration. “Bottled Water Regulation and the FDA.” August/September 2002. 23 Oct.2007 <http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/botwatr.html>.