Take Back the Tap

by Dave Harney

In recent news reports, focus has been given to bottled water and its high cost and impact on the environment. Despite the hype and the billions of dollars spent on advertising campaigns touting it as better or safer than tap, the best water may not come in a bottle.

The US is the world’s largest consumer of bottled water.  We purchased 37 billion bottles in 2005.  Why did we pay as much as 5 cents per ounce of the stuff?  After all, gasoline only costs about 2 cents per ounce!  Is it because we think it’s that much safer?  Or is it, as some have opined, that the sexy, trendy bottle carried around by so many is really nothing more than a security blanket?

If you think it’s safer, you may be in for a surprise.  If bottled water is sold over state lines, it’s regulated by the FDA.  But since 70 percent of all bottled water is produced and sold within a state, it is exempt from FDA regulations. So you must trust safety to be measured by the manufacturer.  Unfortunately, a recent study by the Natural Resources Defense Council found contaminants in their testing, the most common of which were arsenic and synthetic organic carcinogens. So manufacturer testing may not be the best idea.  On the other hand, federal, state, and local environmental agencies require rigorous testing of all tap water.

But the real problem with bottled water is the environment. It requires lots of fossil fuels for production and transportation -- more than 47 million gallons of oil to produce plastic water bottles for Americans every year.  Then the bottles become a major source of refuse, producing up to 1.5 million tons of annual plastic waste. And while the plastic used to bottle beverages is of high quality and in demand by recyclers, over 80 percent of plastic bottles are simply thrown away.  Breaking down these plastics can take thousands of years, and their components can seep into our water supplies. 

Is the tap starting to look better?  How about how bottled water affects your own personal pocketbook or wallet? Americans spent $10 billion on bottled water in 2005.  According to the website foodandwaterwatch.org, that’s more than 1,000 times the cost of production.  Quite a huge profit margin.  No wonder there seems to be a new bottled water company every day.  The margins are so good it’s even better than the oil business!

But if you drink tap water you pay about $2 for every 750 gallons.  With water that inexpensive, you can fill 3,000 bottles from your own tap for the same price of one large bottle of store-bought water, which is usually just enhanced from the tap anyway.  According to the San Francisco Chronicle, nearly 40 percent of bottled water is tap water with added minerals or filtration!

If you want to save money and help the environment, there’s a simple alternative to bottled water: buy a stainless steel thermos, and use it.  Or buy a recyclable bottle in a shape you prefer and reuse it.  Finally, if you don’t like the way your local tap water tastes, you can use inexpensive carbon filters that will provide you with bottled water taste at a fraction of its cost.