Tap Water Vs Bottled Water - Should We Bottle the Tap Or Tap the Bottle? Oy Vey! I Need a Drink!
Is tap water cleaner than bottled water? Most would probably say "No." After all, do you get flyers from your water utility with pictures of snow-capped mountains and streams of gurgling water flowing over rocks into crystal clear, bubbling pools? Nah, you just get a bill. So, let's strip away the marketing bunk and tally some comparison points.
In Cleveland, Ohio, researchers took tap water samples from four processing plants and compared them with five types of bottled water.
1. If tooth decay is a concern, bottled water failed the fluoride tests with only 5% falling within the recommended range. The tap water was okay. Tap, 1 point.
Tap water is regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and they require enough chlorine to be added to the water to kill ALL bacteria.
Bottled water, whose source is often from the tap (see label of Pepsi's Aquafina), is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and they allow bottlers some contamination by E. coli or fecal coliform. Ewww! Sewage! Yuck! Ptooey!
2. While neither result is acceptable, the outcomes reflect the differences in regulation. Two-thirds of the bottled water had lower bacterial counts than the tap water samples, but, 25 percent of the bottled water had 10 times more bacteria than tap water. Tap, 2 points.
3. Lead leaching from supply pipes or fixtures can be a major concern for tap water users, whereas, bottled water is sealed and remains unchanged after processing. Bottled, 1 point.
Chlorine, mandated by the EPA, is a poison that transforms itself into a class of chemical carcinogens in the presence of organic materials. These carcinogens have been directly linked to heart disease and cancer.
4. Danger from chlorine, along with the water's foul taste and smell, is the main reason why most people prefer bottled water vs tap water. Bottled, 2 points.
The EPA and the FDA have identical standards regarding acceptable levels of pharmaceutical drugs. They have none.
Some water utilities test for a few drugs but none remove them.
None of the bottlers test their final product for drugs (that I am aware of), but some have filtering processes that would remove some drugs.
Following recent events on Wall Street, I have full confidence our Government and Wall Street will demand testing for pharmaceutical drugs in our water supplies once we all have long flowing beards, high-pitched voices and are growing a few extra body parts.
5. Bottled water gets an edge here since some bottlers use filter systems which do remove some drugs. Bottled, 3 points.
Those same filters, however, remove trace minerals, such as calcium, magnesium and potassium, essential to good health. If these minerals are not added back, water is flat tasting and unhealthy to drink.
Unhealthy because the water becomes slightly acidic, and when we consume an acid substance, our bodies will take calcium from our teeth and bones to produce bicarbonate in order to neutralize the acid.
6. In light of the above comments related to minerals, and the fact that various studies suggest cancer can only grow in an acid environment, it's another point for tap water. Tap, 3 points.
The U.S. produces 70 million empty plastic water bottles every day, using enough oil in a year to keep 100,000 cars on the road. Landfills are overwhelmed with these bottles. It's estimated that over 60 million of them go to landfills every day.
7. Add in the eco-costs for manufacturing, trucking, shelving and marketing and it's another point for tap water. Tap, 4 points.
Big oil companies buy oil leases from our government, explore for oil, drill, pump, transport to refineries, refine, store, transport to gas stations, pay huge taxes and deliver a reliable product for under .00 a gallon.
Bottled water folks, turn a tap, filter the water (maybe), fill the bottle, take it to the store, pay taxes and deliver a questionable product at a very high price.
8. The cheapest bottled water I found at the store today was .82 on a per gallon basis! Tap, 5 points.
Okay, tap wins this little contest 5 to 3.
That said, I will not knowingly drink tap water. Why?
Go read number 4 again and the paragraph above it.
I spend most of my day reading and writing about what's in our water and what it's doing to us, and, in my opinion, the chlorine in tap water is the primary cause of heart disease and cancer in the world today.
I filter my tap water before I use it. I will use bottled water in an emergency, but it's expensive and way too "iffy" to count on. I bottle my own!
Filter your tap water before you use it and bottle your own water. That way you know you are getting good, safe, water at a penny per glass, not five dollars or more a gallon.
