Why Is Bottled Water Purer Than Tap Water

Nestle’s bottled water is “Pure as driven snow!” while Poland Springs “just may be the best tasting water on earth!” and Pepsi’s Aquafina has “Pure water with a perfect taste.” Is this actually true? Is bottled water really purer than tap water? Bottled water is the fastest growing beverage in the United States with a sales increase of more than 400 percent in the past ten years. There are more than 600 domestic and 75 imported brands of bottled water on the market in the United States alone (Foltz 301). Each company is fighting to sell their specific bottled water using their unique selling points to position their water as a superior product compared to their competitors. Many companies claim they are “eco-friendly” and helping society “go

Bottled water companies like to point out what is wrong with the tap water and that home purification systems are fake. Bottled water is regulated by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), if shipped across state lines because then bottled water would be considered a food. If not shipped across state lines, bottled water is not really regulated at all. Tap water is regulated by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). Until 1996, bottled water was not subject to the same stringent standards as tap water. There were many rules that tap water had to comply with, but bottled water did not. Also, quality standards for bottled water have been around since 1973, but the FDA did not issue truth in labeling rules until 1995. Bottled water is not nearly as regulated and controlled as tap water. For many years, the bottled water manufacturers could do whatever they pleased and not get in trouble because they were left to self regulate. Many municipalities in Kansas City, Houston, and North Miami Beach began to bottle their tap water and charged a $1 a quart or more. In fact, 25% of bottled water is processed tap water (Foltz 301). Is bottled water really healthier than the tap? Bottled water makes the claim they have no recorded deaths or illnesses. There have been more than 900,000 illnesses and more than 100 deaths from tap water because the Federal Government requires the EPA to report illness within 24 hours

They estimated that in “2006, for each liter of water that went into a PET bottle, two liters of water were used to make the plastic bottles. Given that the industry sold 8.7 billion gallons’ worth of bottled water in the U.S. in 2008, water bottlers used an estimated 26 billion gallons of water in the production and bottling of the product” (“Bluewashing”). These 8.7 billion gallons sold were actually taken from the environment, then packaged in plastic and sold over long distances. Energy is used to transport bottled water, which also contributes to pollution and global warming. Some citizens in New Hampshire and California do not let water bottlers come to their communities because they want to protect their watersheds, not damage them. But for bottled water companies, as long as they are benefitting and making money from the selling of their bottled water, they do not care about reducing the overall water usage. In 2007, Coca Cola said they were going “water-neutral,” although water is the main ingredient in all of their beverages. They defined water neutrality as trying their best to reduce their water footprint for product in packaging. In reality, the water is not the same in all areas. Drawing water from anywhere is affecting a watershed, whether it is a place with a lot of water or a place with little water (Bluewashing). Fiji bottled water