The Ugly Truth About Bottled Water

I drink a lot of bottled water - mainly for convenience. I'm on the go most of the time and buying a case of water for $4 is much simpler than filling up 20 bottles to take with me on a trip. I now, however, feel guilty for buying bottled water and each bottled water purchase causes me some anxiety. I feel an immense inner turmoil when I purchase bottled water now...

Not too long ago I watch the movie "Tapped". This movie really opened my eyes to the effects of bottled water, not only to our health, but also to the environment. In this article, I go over some of the major health concerns associated with drinking bottled water and the reasons we should be concerned. I also cover the environmental concerns with drinking bottled water - from the damage to the communities by the sources of the water to the damage on the environment caused by all the plastic bottles littering the planet.

Disclaimer: I'm not stating bottled water is bad for you or asking you not to drink bottled water. I'm simply relaying some information that I thought worth passing along, so you can make more informed decisions.

This is simply based on the fact that fewer regulations exist to monitor bottled water, especially compared with tap water - which is highly regulated. Here are the main points:

• Bottled water and tap water are regulated differently. Why? The EPA regulates tap water and the FDA regulated bottled water. This doesn't make any sense
• Bottled water produced and sold in the same state is NOT regulated by the FDA.
• Many plastic bottles used for bottled water contain all sorts of toxins, such as BPA - a chemical known to cause health issues ranging from cancer to nerve damage.
  

If you watch the movie Tapped, you will see the effect the bottled water manufacturers have on the environment. They come into small towns and literally pump the water sources dry. These sources include streams and wells, which are crucial for many of the local communities.

Here's an excerpt from The Water Project site on this:

When the flows and levels of a region’s springs, wetlands, lakes, streams and rivers are materially affected from extraction for bottling, the entire local and even regional environment suffers, and this extends to the activities that depend on the water –agriculture, individuals, businesses, tourism and recreation. No one knows how much water is being mined for bottled water because there is no universal requirement for bottled water companies.

• You've probably already seen the pictures of landfills full of plastic bottles that take decades to decompose.
• Or, you may have read that if you put all the empty water bottles end-to-end, the chain of plastic bottles could reach the moon.
• Or, you've read how many tons of carbon dioxide are required to produce the plastic that is required for the bottles
• Etc.

Yes, producing bottled water is hazardous to the environment, but then, so again, is just about the production of anything.

The main contention associated with bottled water is necessity - in the United States we have tap water.  Tap water is cheaper, healthier, and better for the environment than bottled water.