Is Bottled Water Better for Us or Only Fancier?

Bottled Water Consumption

“Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink,” says the narrator in Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s masterful poem “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” The funny thing, however, is that most people today must feel the same way, even here in the real world, specifically right here in the good old USA. Water, water, everywhere, yet we haven’t a drop to drink. Well, that is unless it comes in a plastic bottle, which must be the case since with each year that passes we Americans are spending more and more on bottled water.

 

Yearly Cost and Consumption of Bottled Water in the United States 

 

According to Quentin Fottrell (2014), “American consumption of bottled water has surged 2,700%, from 354 million gallons in 1976 to 9.7 billion gallons in 2012.” Moreover, according to statisticbrain.com (2014), the annual spending for bottled water in the U.S. is currently at $11.8 billion, and that’s a heck of a lot of money. And just think about it; if the current expenditure is almost $12 billion, what will it be 20 years from now—$15 billion? I wouldn’t doubt it, especially if one takes into account not only increased consumption but also increased prices.

And, yes, my hubby and I are just as guilty as any other American. In fact, I buy bottled water in packs of 24 and sometimes 36 containers, and Chet and I each consume an average of two bottles per day, seven days a week, and 365 days a year. Why do we consume bottled water? Well, it’s because it’s better for us, right?  Not according to Mae Wu, attorney in the health program at National Resources Defense Council, a nonprofit environmental advocacy group in Washington, D.C.

 

Bottled Water Is Not Healthier or Safer

 

Wu contends, “The general public thinks bottled water is going to be safer and cleaner than tap water,” but “For the most part, that’s not true” (Fottrell, 2014).

Tap Water Is Safe to Drink

The reality, according to Peter Gleick, scientist and author of Bottled and Sold: The Story behind Our Obsession with Bottled Water, is that “nearly half of bottled water brands are sourced from the municipal water supply—the same source as what comes out of the tap. Some 45% of bottled waters in the U.S. are actually purified tap water” (Fottrell, 2014).

What really should give us food-for-thought are the startling results of studies conducted in Germany, Switzerland, Italy and France—one published in 2011 and the other in 2013—by Martin Wagner, a scientist at Goethe University Frankfurt’s Department of Aquatic Ecotoxicology. Fottrell (2014) cites Wagner, who says, “Bottled water had a higher contamination of chemicals than glass bottles. There are many compounds in bottled water that we don’t want to have there. Part is leaching from the plastic bottles, lids or contamination of the well.”

 

Fottrell (2014) also relates that among the main compounds Wagner identified during the studies were “endocrine disrupting chemicals, or EDCs, which can act like hormones in the body and have been linked to diabetes, breast cancer and cardiovascular disease.”

Filter Water at Home and Save Money and the Environment

Obviously, bottled water isn’t a better alternative than tap water, yet each year we Americans spend 300 times the amount we would spend if we instead consumed tap water. And if we have any doubts about the purity of our water source, we can always purchase a purifier and purify our own water. As Nick Colas, chief market strategist for ConvergEx, maintains, filtering your own water is “more economical and better for the environment, and one way to avoid using a lot of scrap plastic” (Fottrell, 2014).

Purify Water with a Water Filter

The reality is that we can drink tap water for free—or at least for a price that is considerably lower than what we pay for bottled water—but, instead, we choose to purchase water with fancy names like Opium Springs, Aquatic Liqueur, or Super Duper Dipperful of Water (I made those up), and the question is why.

Why We Spend a Fortune on Bottled Water

The answer is because we are gullible. Yes, we are gullible, which is why when we see ads for fancy bottled waters on television, in magazines, or in newspapers, we believe what the advertisers tell us. We believe that drinking bottled water is better for us because the water that comes in those bottles is purer and, therefore, safer.  As previously demonstrated, however, that simply is not true.

Of course, some people also believe that carrying around a bottle of water with a fancy label on it makes them appear more urbane (That means sophisticated). Yet others believe that bottled water is more thirst quenching than regular water. Yeah, right, I say to this latter group. In case you haven’t noticed, one type of water is just as wet as the other. Water is, after all, water; and regardless of whether it comes from a bottle, a faucet, or the sky, water will quench your thirst. So, with that in mind, save yourself some money and go stick your head under the faucet. Of course, if you want to appear a bit more sophisticated, you can always reuse one of those fancy plastic bottles you bought. Just fill it from the tap. Trust me, no one will ever know the difference.

Sources: 

 

Fottrell, Q. (2014) Why You Should Stop Buying Bottled Water. Retrieved from http://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-you-should-stop-buying-bottled-water-2014-08-04

Amount of Bottled Water Consumed in U.S. (2014). Retrieved from statisticbrain.com

Gott, P. “Bottled Water not Worth Cost.” The Advocate. Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Thursday, August 07, 2008. p. 1E.

Wlpba.org. (2014) Boy Drinking from Hose Photo. Retrieved from googleimages.com