Bottled Water: More Than Just a Story About Sales Growth; Stringent Federal, State and Industry Standards Help Ensure Safety, Quality and Good Taste [New York] 09 Apr 2007: ALEXANDRIA, Va., April 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The InternationalBottled Water Association (IBWA), in conjunction with Beverage MarketingCorporation (BMC), today released bottled water statistics for the year 2006,compiled by BMC. These numbers show that U.S. bottled water sales andconsumption continue to rise, as consumers increasingly choose bottled waterover other beverages. The latest upward trend was reflected in 2006 when total bottled water volume exceeded 8.25 billion gallons, a 9.5 percent increase over 2005, and the 2006 bottled water per capita consumption level of 27.6 gallons increased by over two gallons, from 25.4 gallons per capita the previous year. Additionally, the wholesale dollar sales for bottled water exceeded $10.8 billion in 2006, an 8.5 percent increase over the $10 billion in 2005. These statistics demonstrate continued consumer demand and appreciation for the convenience and good taste of bottled water brands consumed on-the-go, during exercise, at restaurants or meetings, and at home or the office. However, consumers should also know that bottled water safety and quality result from multiple layers of regulation and standards at the federal, state and industry levels. Bottled water is comprehensively regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a packaged food product, and has issued stringent standards for safety, quality, production, labeling, and identity. Along with the FDA's Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), which are required of all foods, bottled water must comply with several other applicable regulations, including Standards of Identity, Standards of Quality and additional, specific bottled water GMPs. Being a packaged food product, bottled water is also bound by the Nutrition Labeling Education Act (NLEA) and the full range of FDA protective measures designed to enforce product safety and protect consumers. States also regulate bottled water inspections, sampling, analyzing and approving bottled water sources. Testing laboratory certification is another area where states may regulate bottled water. As part of the IBWA Bottled Water Code of Practice, IBWA members voluntarily utilize the principles of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) for a science-based approach to bottled water production and safety. FDA recognizes HACCP as a key component of food safety and consumer protection. "While all beverages have their role in a marketplace with an abundance of drink choices," says Stephen R. Kay, IBWA Vice President of Communications, "consumers are choosing bottled water as a refreshing, hydrating beverage and as an alternative to others that may contain calories, caffeine, sugar, artificial colors, alcohol or other ingredients, which they wish to moderate or avoid. For instance, during 2006, individual ...

1. Bottled Water: More Than Just a Story About Sales Growth;
Stringent Federal, State and Industry Standards Help Ensure
Safety, Quality and Good Taste
[New York] 09 Apr 2007:
ALEXANDRIA, Va., April 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The
InternationalBottled Water Association (IBWA), in conjunction
with Beverage MarketingCorporation (BMC), today released
bottled water statistics for the year 2006,compiled by BMC.
These numbers show that U.S. bottled water sales
andconsumption continue to rise, as consumers increasingly
choose bottled waterover other beverages.
The latest upward trend was reflected in 2006 when total bottled
water volume exceeded 8.25 billion gallons, a 9.5 percent
increase over 2005, and the 2006 bottled water per capita
consumption level of 27.6 gallons increased by over two
gallons, from 25.4 gallons per capita the previous year.
Additionally, the wholesale dollar sales for bottled water
exceeded $10.8 billion in 2006, an 8.5 percent increase over the
$10 billion in 2005. These statistics demonstrate continued
consumer demand and appreciation for the convenience and
good taste of bottled water brands consumed on-the-go, during
exercise, at restaurants or meetings, and at home or the office.
However, consumers should also know that bottled water safety
and quality result from multiple layers of regulation and
standards at the federal, state and industry levels.
Bottled water is comprehensively regulated by the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) as a packaged food product,
and has issued stringent standards for safety, quality,
production, labeling, and identity. Along with the FDA's Good
Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), which are required of all
foods, bottled water must comply with several other applicable
regulations, including Standards of Identity, Standards of

2. Quality and additional, specific bottled water GMPs. Being a
packaged food product, bottled water is also bound by the
Nutrition Labeling Education Act (NLEA) and the full range of
FDA protective measures designed to enforce product safety and
protect consumers. States also regulate bottled water
inspections, sampling, analyzing and approving bottled water
sources. Testing laboratory certification is another area where
states may regulate bottled water. As part of the IBWA Bottled
Water Code of Practice, IBWA members voluntarily utilize the
principles of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point
(HACCP) for a science-based approach to bottled water
production and safety. FDA recognizes HACCP as a key
component of food safety and consumer protection.
"While all beverages have their role in a marketplace with an
abundance of drink choices," says Stephen R. Kay, IBWA Vice
President of Communications, "consumers are choosing bottled
water as a refreshing, hydrating beverage and as an alternative
to others that may contain calories, caffeine, sugar, artificial
colors, alcohol or other ingredients, which they wish to
moderate or avoid. For instance, during 2006, individual
servings of bottled water in sizes of 1.5 liters and smaller
accounted for 57.1% of the volume of bottled water sold,
indicating that consumers are choosing bottled water in lieu of
other bottled drinks.”
Turner, Lisa. Better Nutrition Close:block:publicationBlock
63.12 (Dec 2001):
There was a time when we scoffed at the idea of bottled water.
After all, why buy water when you can get it from the tap,
seemingly for free? Times have changed, however. Today's
health-conscious consumers, even kids, are toting bottles of
water. Whether it's for health reasons, drinking those requisite
eight glasses a day, or to avoid chemicals and pollutants from
the public water supply, water has come into its own as the
beverage of choice.

3. And it's not only just plain ol' spring water, either. The past few
years have given us myriad waters to choose from-glacial,
artesian, oxygen-enriched, purified and even functional water
that's been fortified with vitamins, minerals or herbs. Bottled is
certainly popular-it's a $5 billion dollar business in the U.S.,
alone.
In fact, its popularity is growing so rapidly that it's poised, in
this decade, to become the second largest beverage segment
after soft drinks says Jonathan Hall, publisher of "The Hall
Water Report." But is bottled water really better?
WATER BUGS
Americans are definitely turning off the tap, partly in response
to the quality-inconsistency of municipal water supplies. In
1993, a water-borne outbreak of Cryptosporidium in Milwaukee,
Wisc., caused an estimated 400,000 residents to become ill with
flulike symptoms, leading to several deaths among those who
were immune-impaired. Cryptosporidium, a waterborne parasite
that thrives in animals and is transferred through animal waste,
has been found in rivers, streams, lakes, reservoirs and in other
types of surface water.
That's not all. An August 29, 2001 report put out by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), "Developing Strategy
for Waterborne Microbial Disease," says that the "consequences
of microbial [bacterial and parasitic] contamination are severe."
WHAT'S IN YOUR WATER?
Adequate chlorination kills much of the harmful bacteria in
water, but this chemical process can produce trihalomethanes
(THMs), which are cancer-causing compounds formed when
chlorine interacts with organic matter. Meanwhile, toxic waste,
agricultural pesticides and heavy metals continue to cloud our
water supply. Even if your municipal water supply is safe, home
water delivery systems are suspect: Water pipes can contain
harmful amounts of lead, copper, radon and other contaminants
that can leach into your water supply.
One such contaminant called Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether
(MTBE), is a chemical compound that is created through the

4. chemical reaction of methanol and isobutylene and has been
mainly used as a fuel additive oxygenate that raises the oxygen
content of gasoline.
Unfortunately, the EPA has found that "a growing number of
studies have detected MTBE in ground water throughout the
country, and above 40 parts per billion (ppb) may cause cancer
or other unknown adverse health effects."
A CLEAR CHOICE
Is bottled better than what's on tap in our faucets? According to
an August 2000 study by the water-industry Internet portal,
Bottled Water Web, Consumer Focus, "Sixty-one percent of
Americans believe bottled water to be healthier than tap water,
and out of that 61 percent, 53 percent believe that tap water has
some contamination or chemicals that are not present in bottled
water."
Aside from consumer perception, the truth is that bottled water
is strictly regulated at the federal level by the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration (FDA), as well as at the state level. Tap
water is also regulated as a utility by the EPA, while bottled
water is regulated by the FDA as a pure food product and must
satisfy all applicable food-packaging regulations.
The bottled-water industry is self-regulated. In fact, members of
the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) -which
oversees the production of about 85 percent of the bottled water
sold in the U.S.-must meet strict IBWA standards more
stringent than the FDA's own regulations.
Therefore, most bottled-water companies use one or more the
following practices and technologies:
1) Source protection and monitoring
2) Reverse osmosis
3) Distillation
4) Ozone treatment, known as ozonation
5) Disinfection, such as chlorination
Although tap water quality and taste may be acceptable, its
questionable variables make bottled and home-purified water
look better. In fact, while 75 percent of all bottled water comes

5. from protected sources such as springs, tap water comes
primarily from rivers and lakes, sources of unpredictable purity.
THE BOTTOM LINE?
Hydration. No matter what type of water you choose, or what
source you get it from, be certain to drink at least eight glasses
of water each day.
A recent study that was commissioned by the Nutrition
Information Center at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical
Center in New York City, found that only 20 percent of
respondents meet the important "eight a day" recommendation.
Barbara Levine, Ph.D., R.D., director of the Center, says, "The
net result is that most Americans are probably only getting
about a third of the valuable hydration benefits they need.
In fact, babies, toddlers and pregnant women are at a special
risk for dehydration. Parents should monitor the fluid intake of
infants and toddlers since they're unable to express thirst.
Even older children will often not stop to take a drink and need
to be reminded to take "water breaks" on a regular basis.
Pregnant women need to accommodate the fluid needs of their
developing babies; nursing mothers need to replace lost fluids,
too.
The vast majority of Americans are not drinking enough water
to begin with and, to make matters worse, many of them don't
realize that beverages containing alcohol and caffeine rob the
body of water."
Levine adds, "The consumption of water and other hydrating
beverages is crucial for proper retention and use of the body's
water in complex and intricate biochemical processes." In other
words, hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!
Main content area
water pressure
Brown, Jordana.Vegetarian Times 358 (May 2008):

6. Bottled water choices have never been so varied-or so elite. But
is the fancy stuff any better for you than H2O from the tap?
It's a clever business move: Commodify something essential and
market it as a symbol of health and status. In the past 30 years,
that has happened with water. Americans spent over $10.8
billion on bottled water in 2000, as tap water's reputation
suffers and nonbiodegradable bottles clog landfills. So while
water is a healthy choice, is bottled water better for us and the
environment?
Q:
Before we get down to the nifty-gritty, what are the differences
between the various types of bottled water?
A:
There are many different water varieties, generally labeled
based on their source or mineral content. Here's a cheat sheet
for what those labels mean:
Artesian (e.g., Fiji, Voss): Thought to be purer than other water
sources, artesian water comes from a confined aquifer (i.e., a
solid layer of clay, rock, ice, or other natural element), which
pressurizes the water to the point that it rises to the surface
naturally.
Mineral (e.g., Calistoga, Evian): To be classified as mineral
water, this variety
contains at least 250 parts per million total dissolved solids
originating from a geologically and physically protected
underground water source. There must be constant levels and
relative proportions of minerals and trace elements at the
source. No minerals may be added.
Spring (e.g., Arrowhead, Crystal Geyser, Volvic): Spring water
derives from an underground formation from which water flows
naturally to the earths surface at a specific location.
Purified (e.g., Aquafina, Dasani): This is generally water from
the "municipal supply" (aka tap water) that has been purified by
one of a variety of techniques: distillation, deionization, reverse
osmosis, or other suitable process.

7. Q:
Is bottled water safer than tap water?
A:
Not necessarily. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
regulates bottled water, whereas the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA), along with state and local governments,
oversees tap water quality. In theory, this setup makes sense:
The FDA already monitors food safety at manufacturing plants.
"There are specific food-manufacturing processes and standards
required of bottled water plants," says Adam Bloom, general
manager of the Beverage Quality Program for NSF
International, an independent not-for-profit company that
develops standards and certifies food, water, and dietary
supplements. As far as the chemical composition of safe
drinking water goes, the FDA simply adopts most of its
requirements directly from EPA tap water standards.
Does that raise your impression of tap water? In reality, it
should lower your appreciation of botded water. According to
an exhaustive 1999 study conducted by the National Resources
Defense Council (NRDC), botded water sold in the United
States was not necessarily safer or cleaner than tap water. The
NRDC tested more than 1,000 botdes of 103 brands and found
that, while much of the botded water was within safe guidelines
for contaminants, about a quarter of brands in one sample
"violated strict applicable state [California] limits for botded
water." Furthermore, while a recent investigation by the
Associated Press found traces of pharmaceuticals in tap water in
24 metropolitan areas, the fact remains that many bottled waters
contain filtered tap water, and the filtering process hasn't
necessarily removed the drugs.
Q:
What accounts for the quality gap?
A:
The problem is multilayered, and, according to consumer
advocacy group Food & Water Watch, it comes down to
regulation. Whereas the hierarchy of regulatory groups ensures

8. that tap water undergoes what Food & Water Watch calls
"rigorous testing," including 100 or more tests per month for
certain types of bacteria, most bottling plants are considered
low risk and are inspected less than once a year. Furthermore,
tap water is required by law to be filtered and disinfected, but
no such laws apply to bottled water on the federal level. Lastly,
the FDA regulates only bottled water sold across state lines, but
since up to 70 percent of bottled water is produced in the same
state in which its sold, it is exempt from regulation.
This is not to say, however, that bottled water is particularly
unsafe. In fact, about 200 bottled water manufacturers around
the globe signed up for NSF's independent certification
program, which fills many of the holes in the PDA's regulatory
process. "The process involves a thorough review of food safety
procedures and practices as well as the equipment used. Food
safely professionals and quality assurance people conduct these
audits-from the source all the way to the point where it's
bottled, and then into the warehouse," says Bloom. "The water
itself goes through exhaustive tests for everything from heavy
metals to pesticides to other minerals." Companies that meet the
NSF's standards feature the NSF logo on their packaging, so
look for that in grocery store aisles or go to nsf.org to find a list
of approved brands.
Q:
What about the environmental impact of drinking bottled water?
A:
Bottom line: Bottled water isn't doing the environment any
favors. There are three angles to consider.
The landfill effect: Ling Li analyzed the environmental impact
of the rise in bottled water consumption as a research fellow
with Worldwatch Institute, an independent research
organization dedicated to creating a sustainable and socially
just society. According to Li, although bottlers are now making
bottles with polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a plastic that
recycles cleaner and requires less energy to recycle or
remanufacture than glass or aluminum, most of those bottles

9. don't get recycled. In fact, recycling practices are declining,
with only 23 percent of all bottles being recycled. About 2
million tons of PET bottles are dumped in landfills annually.
Greenhouse gases: "The production of bottled water, the
bottling, and the packaging all require energy, so basically they
use gas and oil," says Li. "And then when you ship bottled
water, you consume a lot of gas and create carbon dioxide
emissions." Drinking locally sourced water is better, and tap is
as local as you can get.
Overtaxed natural aquifers: "Excessive withdrawal of natural
mineral water or spring water to produce bottled water has
threatened local streams and groundwater aquifers," writes Li.
In some instances, the water is taken from areas whose residents
need it. This scenario threatens to have the worst outcome in
developing countries, where residents can't afford bottled water
and could lose their own local water sources.
Q:
But what if I don't like the taste of tap water?
A:
Simple-filter it. The NSF also certifies filters of all types, so
look for its logo on the box, and do a little research. The EPA
requires public water suppliers to send out an annual consumer
confidence report. This report offers information on the source
and quality of and potential contaminants in the water that
comes out of your tap. The contaminants will be within legal
limits, but a filter can remove impurities found in your water.
Be sure to maintain the filter as directed by the manufacturer.
While no one will argue with the wisdom of grabbing a bottle of
water at the airport or keeping a supply on hand in case of
emergencies, it's clear that what's best for the environment-and
fine for your health-is to drink filtered tap water. Need one last
push? The NRDC estimates that drinking bottled water costs
between 240 and 10,000 times as much as tap. Think about that
the next time you feel thirsty.
PURIFYING THE BUSINESS OF SELLING WATER

10. Krogstad, Astrid M.E : the Environmental Magazine20.1
(Jan/Feb 2009): 10-11
In 2004, Jonathan Ritchey and Rick Howard joined forces to
address the loss of one of the world's most precious resources:
water. The majority of the planet is covered with water (326
million cubic miles), yet only 3% is fresh water and even less is
accessible to humans. Element Four is Ritchey and Howard's
answer - a company devoted to easing the global fresh-water
shortage. Their product, the WaterMill, converts air into potable
water through condensation followed by antimicrobial
processes. The water then travels to various "points-of-use
systems" such as home faucets and refrigerators. Ideally, the
WaterMill will produce 3.2 gallons of water per day - enough to
meet the needs of a family of six. And at an average operating
cost of 35 cents per day, it far surpasses in cost-effectiveness
the price of bottled water. The point is to alleviate the
environmental burden of bottled water, while placing control of
fresh water sources into the hands of consumers.
The WaterMill is at the intersection of technology,
environmentalism and philanthropy. Though the company's
target demographic will initially consist of suburbanites,
Howard and Ritchey envision adapting the product for
worldwide use. "With a minimum relative humidity, die
WaterMill can be of benefit to any consumer in almost any
environment, and this is where Element Four can have a global
impact on the water crisis," says Howard.
Available in February, it is die first in an upcoming line of
products that will include a solar-powered version of the
WaterMill as well as the WaterWall, a large-scale adaptation for
use on an industrial scale
Bottled Water BACKLASH
Knopper, Melissa. E : the Environmental Magazine 19.3
(May/Jun 2008): 36-39.

11. Jennifer Phillips always felt guilty that her large Nashville law
firm didn't recycle. So after big client meetings, she Jl collected
all the empty mm plastic water bottles, took them home and
added them to her own curbside recycling bin. Now, she is
proud to report that her firm, Bass, Berry & Sims, serves an icy
pitcher of tap water during meetings. "We even have glasses
with the company logo on them," she says. Phillips estimates
switching to tap keeps 3,000 plastic water bottles per week out
of the landfill.
It's a trend that is taking hold in the s U.S., Europe and Canada:
more people are switching from bottled water to tap. Call it
reverse snob appeal. Bottled water once carried a certain
European mystique. But these days, it's the tap water
enthusiasts, concerned about the environment, who get to act
self-righteous. Just like it has become cool to bring your own
cloth bags to the grocery store and your own mug to the coffee
shop, the reusable water bottle is the hip, new eco accessory.
It's because people like Phillips and David WiIk, a Connecticut
book publisher and tap water activist, have started to connect
the dots. For WiIk, it happened on the soccer field. After his
sons finished their games, he noticed the grass was littered with
bottled water and Gatorade empties. Pretty soon, WiIk started
showing up with a huge container of tap water. Now all the kids
bring their own bottles and fill up when thirsty.
"We have such a consumption mentality, which leads to our
throw-away society," says WiIk, who started the website
Turntotap.com to build more support for public water supplies
and to cut down on the amount of plastic going into landfills. "I
think the cost of our behavior should be built into the.
products," WiIk says.
A Gathering Revolt
In Canada, the bottled water issue has become, as WiIk says, an
"uprising." College students are staging protests-declaring
"bottled water-free zones" on campus. High school activists are
raising questions about why their school board members are
locking them into a contract with Coke or Pepsi (makers of

12. Aquafina and Dasani bottled water) when they have access to
drinking fountains for free. Some students have jokingly started
to sell bottled air for $1.
In an even bolder move, the United Church of Canada asked its
three million members to consider banning bottled water during
meetings and events. "We just had a lot of concerns about
governance and accountability," says Julie Graham, who leads
the anti-bottled water campaign for a Toronto ecumenical
activist group called Kairos. "Why is it people in Canada are
willing to pay twice as much for bottled water as for gasoline?
We started challenging that and raising questions about billions
of empty bottles going into landfills."
Others, like Richard Girard, a corporate researcher for the
Ottowa-based Polaris Institute, don't like the hypocrisy I they
perceive in the bottled water marketing. "This movement is
gaining momentum because the general public is starting to
figure out bottled water is a scam," says Girard. More than half
of all bottled water is simply filtered tap anyway, he argues.
And some of it is actually worse in quality because bottled
water companies aren't subject to the same strict oversight as
public water supplies.
"We want the bottled water corporations to be held accountable
for their actions," Girard says. "These companies are essentially
commodifying water. We hope we can force them to change and
be more environmentally responsible."
The trend away from bottled water also ties in with the Slow
Food movement-as the restaurant industry tries to support local
agriculture and cut down on extravagant energy used to ship
imported foods from around the world. At Berkeley's Chez
Panisse, general manager Mike Kossa-Rienzi had his "a-ha"
moment when he sat down and calculated how far the 25,000
bottles of sparkling Italian spring water he ordered had to travel
through the air. "It really does not make sense to ship from all
around the world when you have such good water in your
backyard," he says. "You have to think about the carbon imprint
you're making there."

13. Another big push for the bottled water backlash came during
World Water Day 2007, when San Francisco Mayor Gavin
Newsom declared a ban on bottled water contracts for all city
departments. Instead of bottled water vending machines, he
installed large dispensers in city buildings that poured out pure
tap water from the Sierra mountains. Other cities, from Chicago
to Salt Lake, followed suit.
Just think about a bottled water brand like Fiji, says WiIk. On
the company's website, it says, "When it comes to drinking
water, remote is very, very good." If you think about it, WiIk
says, it's pretty arrogant to ask that Fiji water be flown 8,000
miles across the world just so North American yuppies can
enjoy a slightly better taste.
Responding to rising criticism, the company launched the "Fiji
Green" campaign. It partnered with Conservation International
to go carbon negative, reduced packaging, committed to 100
percent recycled materials and has pledged money to protect the
Sovi Basin rainforest in Fiji. A cynic would say the company is
doing this because it can afford to-marketing Fiji water is an
enormously profitable enterprise.
Bottled Waste
It takes 15 million barrels of oil per year to make all of the
plastic water bottles in America, according to the Container
Recycling Institute. Sending those bottles by air and truck uses
even more fossil fuel.
Once people drain the bottles, they rarely recycle them because
they're often purchased at big concert venues or airports with no
recycling bins. CRI says eight out of 10 water bottles end up in
the landfill. The bottles that drift from landfills and litter
streams are washing out to sea to form a huge raft of plastic
debris in the center of the Pacfic that is twice the size of Texas.
It takes 1,000 years for plastic bottles to break down, CRI
estimates. But when they do, they disintegrate into tiny bits.
The green and blue bottles, especially, look like tasty food to
fish and shorebirds. Scientists are finding these dead animals on
the beach, with bellies full of plastic pellets.

14. If more states added deposits on bottled water bottles, it might
spur recycling. Congressman Ed Markey (D-MA) has even
proposed a national beverage bottle bill. But PET water bottles
(short for polyethylene terephthalate) can only be recycled a
few times. What about going back to refillable glass bordes?
For one thing, they are heavy to ship. And Zero Waste expert
Neil Seldman of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance doesn't
imagine anyone could persuade the beverage industry to go that
route.
"They have always lobbied against it," Seldman says. "The
industry does not want to deal with it after people buy their
productthey want to wash their hands of the containers." That's
why it makes the most sense to avoid creating the waste in the
first place by drinking tap from your own container, Seldman
says.
Meanwhile, as drought spreads to North Carolina and Atlanta,
residents are casting a suspicious eye on beverage companies
like Coca Cola, which tap into local aquifers to rill their bottles.
Nestle has been seeking environmental approval for what would
be the largest water bottling plant in the U.S.- one million
square feet in McCloud, California-against community protests.
The company has had to significantly increase the amount it's
paying for the water (from $26 an acre-foot to $183) and limit
its draw to 520 million gallons annually. It's still battling
opposition from residents concerned about the mega-plant's
effects on quality of life and outdoor recreation.
Bottled water industry groups, such as the International Bottled
Water Association, say they are being unfairly targeted. They
argue bottled water is a healthy alternative to sugary soda. And
it can also be a lifesaver when disasters, such as Hurricane
Katrina, strike. "It's not really a bottled water vs. tap water
world," says IBWA spokesman Steven Kay. "Most people drink
both. We think bottled water provides a good healthy choice."
But industry marketing firms have had to do an about-face.
"What's interesting about the backlash," says CRI Executive
Director Betty McLaughlin, "is that the companies say 'drink

15. our water, not tap water.' Now people are going back to tap and
they've got to reposition themselves." Companies are trying
every angle, from claims of superior filtration to adding
antioxidants (Snapple) and fruity flavors (Dasani and others).
Don't Refill that Bottle!
The IBWA argues that bottled water companies are responding
to environmental concerns by making lighter bottles that require
less plastic in the manufacturing process. Kay says the industry
does invest significant money to improve access to recycling at
large public venues, such as airports and concert halls.
Companies like Nalgene, Sigg and Brita are aggressively
marketing their refillable bottles and home filters as a more
responsible option.
When it comes to reusable bottles, however, consumers still
need to do their homework. Research shows that clear bottles
made of polycarbonate plastic (such as the original 32-ounce
Nalgene) can leach bisphenol-A (BPA). This is an endocrine-
disrupting chemical that acts like estrogen in the body. BPA
essentially tricks your body into thinking it's estrogen, says
Washington State University Researcher Patricia Hunt. She
discovered the dangers of BPA when some of her polycarbonate
mouse cages started to leach BPA, causing infertility in female
mice.
Since BPA has been linked to low sperm counts and an
increased risk of breast and prostate cancer, scientists like
vomSaal and Hunt suggest avoiding reusable bottles made from
plastic. They also raise serious concerns about the potential for
other plastic chemicals to leach out of typical PET water
bottles-especially if they sit in the hot sun.
Hunt uses a stainless bottle brand called Klean Kantene, and
Wilk's website sells stainless guaranteed-not-to-leach SIGG
bottles made in Switzerland. The trend away from bottled water
may also boost sales of home filters. Water-quality experts say
most tap water is fine to drink straight from the faucet-
especially in cities like San Francisco, Seattle, New York City
and Denver, where water comes from pristine mountain

16. reservoirs. But in places that draw drinking water from lakes
and rivers with sewer outfalls, it might make sense to install a
filter. Sometimes rusty pipes or naturally occurring iron can
also affect the taste.
It makes sense for anyone turning back to tap to become
educated about the local public water supply. And since the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires frequent water
quality reports, the data is easy to find. The Environmental
Working Group (EWG) makes it easy with its Tap Water
Database. You can plug in your zip code and find out whether
your local water system is up to par.
Now that more people are trying get out of the bottled water
habit, groups like Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
and EWG wonder if this new awareness will translate into more
support for public water supplies, and for water conservation in
general.
Once you kick the bottle, they say, the next step is to get
educated and get involved-find out what your water system
needs and start pushing your elected officials to bring more
funds to bear on the problem. According to NRDC, the EPA has
asked for billions of dollars for a public water supply needs
assessment. But the Bush Administration has allocated only a
small portion of that request, says NRDC attorney Mae Wu.
"People are very concerned about what's in their water because
we drink so much of it," says Jane Houlihan, EWG's vice
president for research. "We're advocating for more protection
for the waters that are the source of what comes out of kitchen
faucets."