Tap water safer than bottled water?

Posted on Dec 17th 2007 5:19PM by Mary Kearl

Filed Under: Reviews & Products, Nutrition & Supplements

I know that when it comes to getting and staying fit, getting plenty of water is key. Staying hydrated is not only crucial for staying energized through our workouts, it can help reduce caloric intake and prevent us from overeating if we go whole-heartedly into gulping down at least the recommended 64 oz of water a day.

With that much water consumed on a daily basis, it's enough to make you wonder about where our water comes from, and how clean and safe it really is.

I was curious about the safety of bottled water in particular, since so many people think it's the natural "healthy" alternative to tap water. So I did some searching and found a few shocking reports about the safety of bottled water:

In 1999, The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) released a four-year study of the bottled water industry. The study tested more than 1,000 bottles of 103 different brands of bottled water, and while most of the tested bottled waters were determined to be of high quality, some brands were contaminated. About one-third of the water bottles tested contained synthetic organic chemicals and bacteria, and one sample contained arsenic levels that exceeded state health limits.

The World Health Organization's investigation of bottled water showed that bottle water is stored for longer periods and at higher temperatures than tap water, allowing some microorganisms to grow to higher levels. The WHO cautions that because bottled water is not sterile, infants, pregnant women and immuno-compromised individuals may be vulnerable to these contaminants.

A 2001 World Wildlife Fund-commissioned study, "Bottled Water: Understanding a Social Phenomenon," found that the manufacture of plastic bottles can release phathalates, or other by-products of plastic-making into the environment. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that while more research is needed to determine the harmful effects of phthalates among humans, phthalates given at very high doses to animals during pregnancy may produce birth defects among offspring.

Not sure how safe your public drinking water is? You can find out more information about how safe your tap water is here.

Alternatives to Soda(click thumbnails to view gallery)

Source

22 Comment

Tags: bottled water, BottledWater, health-bloggers, healthy water, HealthyWater, safe tap water, safe water, SafeTapWater, SafeWater, unsafe bottled water, UnsafeBottledWater

Around the Web

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Dave 12-19-2007 @ 2:58PM

As a water professional, drinking water has the most stringent reqierments. Inclusive, we are required by law to submit something called a Comsumer Confidence Report (CCR) to the state evironmental bureau once a year. Just call your local water purveyor or Town Hall to get the information on your water. If you have any needs. please feel free to contact me a xxxdwlxxx at AOL dot com. Dave

van 12-19-2007 @ 3:15PM

This is nice to hear now after i have been filling my gallon jug up every morning out of my 5 gallon water cooler every morning since 1993.

Dr. Tom 12-19-2007 @ 3:56PM

Note that water is part of many things that we eat. It does not mean that a person needs to drink 64 oz of water a day.

Water Guy 12-19-2007 @ 4:10PM

I am a certified water specialist, and tap water is disgusting. Unfortunately, however, there are no restrictions on bottled water either, and so in most cases, bottled water is no better than tap water. I recommend having a Reverse Osmosis system installed at your kitchen sink. They are cost effective, the water tastes great, and you will have safe drinking water at all times

Kathy 12-19-2007 @ 7:31PM

You don't live in Boston, MA obviously. We have the best water anywhere.

cruisbuf 12-19-2007 @ 4:11PM

I fill my empty bottled water with tap water when I am done, add crystal light, shake and freeze for the next day. I have never believed bottled water was any better than tap. we did a taste test at home and no one could tell the difference. just another way they try to make $ off us...

El 12-19-2007 @ 4:36PM

I don't do the crystal light thing, but I do refill my water bottles with tap water. Normally I buy the 1.5 liter Aquafina bottles, as I consider Aquafina water to be about the best tasting bottles water, but I then pour the water out and fill the bottle with tap water since I still prefer tap water. As for your taste test, I have MANY time done a comparison between sparklets and arrowhead and been able to tell the difference every time. Go figure...

Michele 12-19-2007 @ 4:26PM

I would think a general statement regarding which water is better wouldn't be accurate. It probably depends on where you live, and what is in your tap water.

Kevin 12-19-2007 @ 4:30PM

Dr. Herbert Schwartz of Cumberland County College in Vineman, N.J. says: "Chlorine has so many dangers it should be banned. Putting chlorine in the water supply is like starting a time bomb. Cancer, heart trouble, premature senility, both mental and physical, are conditions attributable to chlorine treated water supplies. It is making us grow old before our time by producing symptoms of aging such as hardening of the arteries."

Chlorine is, essentially, bleach. And what comes out of most municipally delivered faucets is, quite actually, a mild bleach solution. Is it healthy to drink bleach? Does your body require any certain amount of chlorine to remain healthy? Feel free to consult a physician on that somewhat rhetorical question.

Note the "chloro" part in the following: trichlorophosphate (TCP) and the trihalomethane group (THMs) which includes chloroform. You may recognize these known bad guys by the legally imposed requirement of your municipality to periodically make report to the public (newspaper) on the levels of these known or highly suspected carcinogens in the tap water being produced. There are others, but those are popularly known. And they're all chlorine by-products.

The good news is, you don't have to drink it anymore. The most practical and efficient method for removing chlorine, chlorine by-products, and taste and odor problems, is to filter it with granular activated carbon (GAC) or other suitable chemical-removing filter media, such as KDF.

The municipalities are stuck. Environmental and public safety laws require most to maintain a chlorine residual throughout the entire water main delivery system. This is to retain some disinfecting properties in the event of groundwater infiltration and other contaminations. Barking at your local water company or water department about the taste and odor will accomplish nothing. Chances are, they're doing their best, and meeting the laws. The most practical solution to the problem is to take it back out at the "point of use" (POU) -- your own home or office.

Chase Holden 12-19-2007 @ 4:35PM

As a experienced water treatment consultant, and I'm not in the bottled water business, I find this article ridiculous. It purports nothing.

There are hundreds of poison contaminants & toxins in public tap water, not to mention fluoride proven to cause neurological disorders when swallowed and chlorine which is linked to every cancer there is. "Purified" bottled water is the only safe bottled water and it is absolutely safe.

There is nothing safe about tap water. Also most plastic used in bottled water are safe as long as they are not subjected to intense heat--which most are not. Don't stop drinking bottled water. Just beware which kinds you buy. If it doesn't say "purified," then it is not pure by federal guidelines. There is no such thing as pure tap water.

El 12-19-2007 @ 4:35PM

Hey Dave, water's supposed to be free, right...

horta 12-19-2007 @ 4:57PM

There are companies, especially a certain one which I shall not name here, removing billions of gallons of water from our Great Lakes and aquifers and bottling it to be shipped and sold in all parts of the country. As a result it does not re-enter our water cycle and the water levels in our Great Lakes have dropped significantly. There is no reason for this environmental disaster.

Kevin 12-19-2007 @ 5:12PM

I am hearing on documentaries about the subject that a bottle of water costs on average 1000 times as much as the same quantity of water out of the tap. Bottled water is definitely not 1000 times safer. I would only buy a bottle of water for convenience, or in an emergency. Notice too now how bottled water can cost more than a bottle of soda in the same quantity from the same supplier?? Huh???????

Amanda 12-19-2007 @ 5:28PM

What is a person to do? This is so aggravating to me!

I realize that many bottled water companies are not what they claim, some use deceptive advertising, they charge way too much for water, and aren't 'green' with shipping their product everywhere, plus they use so much plastic!
BUT, I know city water is horrible for you. I have family who made careers out of working for city water departments. City water is awful. It's full of chemicals, hormones, industrial runoff, and 'bleached' waste. Oh, and many city waters contain fluoride too. Not good to drink on a daily basis. (I've lived on fluoride free water all my life and I've only had two small cavities in 30 years, so don't give me the fluoride necessity argument!)
Really, what is a health conscious person to do? Move to the highest peak of the Ozarks or Himalayas and only drink from the highest spring?? For crying out loud!
UGH!

Ralph Cramden 12-19-2007 @ 5:57PM

Why are you baseing this artical on a decade old study ?
Are there not more current studies of bottled water ?
I think that standard's have changed a little since 1998, dont you ?

rochesterhodge 12-19-2007 @ 6:06PM

What took you so long to report this. It has been said for years. Why would anyone think that bottled water is safer than tap? People that drink it should have to pay a dollar a bottle more for all that wasted plastic and fuel resources to process said water. They get it out of a tap, or did you really think they had a well in the plant?

John F.C. Taylor 12-19-2007 @ 7:28PM

With all the problems in the world today, drinking water is not even on my list of concerns. To pay for bottles water is ridiculous. Especially when it cost more than gasoline. Sure, I drink bottled water. Water that I put in a bottle straight out of the faucet of the kitchen sink.

Dr.Pyant 12-20-2007 @ 4:39PM

I am just glad I found out about alkline water. SINCE I HAVE BEEN DRINKING KANGEN WATER I FEEL GREAT. We have always know that our NYC water was bad, but now we now also that a alkline body is a body without diease. When you know better you do better. So chage your water friends and chage your life.

heath 12-19-2007 @ 8:08PM

Well I must say to those of you that are so pissed off at those of us that buy and drink bottled water- I pay 99 cents for a gallon of purified bottled water everyday. I think that the dollar is worth it because the water that I pay for from my city is disgusting. It has so many chemicals in it that it does not even taste like water. It stains my bathtub so why would I put it in my mouth? If you want to that is your perogative but don't judge me for how I choose to spend my money. I make a good amount and see no reason why if I can afford to buy purified water that I should forego it for nasty tap water. I suppose if my tap water was not so gross I wouldn't feel the need to but I don't have the luxury that you obviously have at least believe you have. So don't judge me unless you want to drink the sludge my city provides to me for a not so small fee.