Bottled water is clean and pure, right? Not necessarily. Bottled water can be less pure than municipal tap water in some parts of the United States. In fact, bottled water can actually be municipal tap water.

What is bottled water?

The United State FDA describes bottled water in this way: “Bottled water is water that is intended for human consumption and that is sealed in bottles or other containers with no added ingredients except that it may optionally contain safe and suitable antimicrobial agents. Fluoride may be optionally added within the limitations established.”

Who regulates what bottled water has in it?

The Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates bottled drinking water, which is classified as a “food”. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates tap water. Amazingly, the EPA guidelines for municipal water are stricter than the FDA restrictions for bottled drinking water! You might buy bottled drinking water that is acceptable to the FDA but is not acceptable for use as ordinary bathroom tap water.

The FDA’s specific regulations for bottled water are found in Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations (21 CFR).

What are FDA standards?

Under the standard of quality (21 CFR, 165.110[b]), FDA allows certain levels of contaminants in bottled water.

Contaminants bottled water may have in it.

1. Coliform. Coliform are rod-shaped bacteria, such as E. coli, that are normally present in the human intestine. The FDA says that bottled water may have up to 9.2 coliform organisms per 100 milliliters. See 21 CFR 165.110[b]. (more…)

Wait a minute: free drinking water ISN’T available in all of our school cafeterias?? We have to pass a LAW requiring that free water be made available to children in lunchrooms?

Article by Dr. Peter Gleick from SFGate.com

One of the reasons for the explosive growth in the sales of bottled water in the past two decades (the average American now drinks nearly 30 gallons of commercial bottled water per year, up from 1 gallon in 1980), is the disappearance of public drinking water fountains.

In a recent Huffington Post piece and in the book Bottled and Sold: The Story Behind Our Obsession with Bottled Water, I recount the disappearance of public water from major sports venues, such as the new stadium at Central Florida University (built with no water fountains at all), the removal of water fountains by the sports arena that hosts the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the efforts by the University of Michigan at their 100,000 seat stadium to restrict water to a small number of fountains and sales of bottled water from their own commercial vendors.

It is time for a revival of our public drinking water fountains. And some people are getting the message:

A fancy new water fountain has just been installed in London’s Hyde Park as part of a revival there. (more…)

A recent “grassroots” campaign, funded by The International Bottled Water Association, has popped up on the internet charging consumers to fight for their rights to drink, carry and purchase bottled water anytime, anywhere. With a website, YouTube channel, Twitter feed and Facebook page they present themselves as concerned citizens and good, honest bottled water enthusiasts.

This is yet another example of large corporations and trade groups attempting to influence public policy and opinion by sponsoring “grassroots” movements to fight for their agenda.

Check out this awkward spot produced by the group:

Brian Merchant notes: “But the strangest thing about this particular “grassroots” movement to me is just how out of touch and overextended it is — it seems like a pretty big stretch for the industry to assume it can make people think they’re fighting to defend their freedom of choice by asking their congressman to protect bottled water. I can’t imagine even the most diehard libertarian getting fired up over their right to drink bottled water.

Also interesting is the claim employed here, that we’ve grown well-accustomed to hearing — that moving to limit wasteful consumption or institute environmental protections amount to assaults on American freedoms. Which is more often than not, ridiculous. Bottled water, for instance, is wasteful, pointless, and requires a ton of petroleum to manufacture and recycle. Americans have the option to fill their reusable bottles with perfectly good tap water, at 1% of the cost. That’s what I call freedom.

[via TreeHugger]

Bill would tell state how much of its water goes to bottlers

Does the state have a right to know where its water is going?

Major multinational corporations such as Nestle are allowed to siphon it up for free—only to sell it back to Californians and others in energy-guzzling plastic bottles likely to end up in landfills or floating off our lovely coastlines. Profit margin: Up to 10,000 percent.

Bottled water is increasingly controversial for these reasons. And while you may not believe that the occasional Dasani or Aquafina is a Class A environmental felony, it would certainly make sense to have companies pay the state something for the millions of gallons of water they remove from the public’s groundwater supply.

A state bill sponsored by Felipe Fuentes (D-San Fernando) will soon get a floor vote to eliminate on part of the scandal: It would require water bottlers to report how much water they take from public aquifers. The governor vetoed the bill last year in a skirmish over the budget.

Also last summer, the City of Sacramento made a deal with Nestle that is stricter than most: It charges the company 65 centers per 100 cubic feet of water, instead of giving it up for free. But the city didn’t limit the Nestle’s total draw, even as local residents faced water restrictions. And the 65 cent price is 10 cents lower than the generic commercial rate, although Nestle will make a 10,000 percent profit on the water.

Fuentes’ bill wouldn’t undo sweetheart deals like this one, but it would force water bottlers like Nestle to report their water use to the state — which would empower officials to consider this significant source of commercial use in determining how best to handle California’s contentious water issues.

Ask your representatives to support the bill by signing this petition.

A recent report by USA Today noted filtered tap water makes up an increasing share of bottled water — rising from 32.7% in 2000 to 47.8% in 2009 — as the share of spring-sourced water declines, according to analysis of industry data by the non-profit consumer advocacy group Food & Water Watch.

Nearly half of those in PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic bottles now come from municipal tap water! I can’t say I’m particularly surprised by this figure. Remember the whole Aquafina controversy? Of course you do. Pepsi, the conglomerate behind Aquafina, even admitted Aquafina comes from the tap.

“These are the numbers the bottled water industry doesn’t want you to see,” says Wenonah Hauter, the group’s executive director in a statement. She adds: “More and more bottled water is basically the same product the flows from consumer taps, subsidized by taxpayer dollars—then poured into an environmentally destructive package, and sold for thousands of times its actual value.”

The data, which come from the Beverage Marketing Corporation’s annual report on bottled water, attribute the increase in tap-sourced water to Nestle Pure Life’s switch from spring water to tap water in 2005. They also show that U.S. sales of bottled water increased sharply from 2002 to 2007 but have since fallen.

Report: Bottled water increasingly comes from the tap [via USA Today]

Bottled water sales were down in 2009 compared to the previous year. This is a big win for the Ban the Bottle Movement and a message to bottled water companies like Nestle, Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Add it all up and you get bottled water sales that dropped in 2009 for the first time in five years. Yes, folks, bottled water is becoming the new cigarette.

We can trace this change of attitude to the Australian town of Bundanoon, a hamlet of about 2,500 south of Sydney. It seems the citizens there became angry a few years back when, according to published accounts, a beverage company announced plans to build a water extraction plant in town.

Residents faced the prospect of an outsider taking their water, sending it off to the big city for processing and then selling it back to them. The town became so incensed it voted to ban the end product.

About the same time, according to anti-bottle activists, “one of the dumbest moves in advertising history” occurred when high-end brand Fiji started a campaign intended to tout its water which is imported from the tropics.

The advertising copy read: “The label says Fiji because it’s not bottled in Cleveland.”

Well, the people of Cleveland, the victims of many slings and arrows over the years, did not take kindly to the campaign. So Cleveland Public Utilities director Julius Ciaccia had the local water tested against the bottled stuff. Fiji water had 6.31 micrograms of arsenic per liter; the city tap had zero. The company disputed the findings, but change was in the air.

The cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Santa Barbara and Salt Lake City have asked employees not to use bottled water or banned city spending on it. Chicago added a 5-cent tax to each bottle.

Bottled water sales are drying up [via Pasadena Star-News]

Bottled water is healthy water – or so marketers would have us believe. Just look at the bottled water labels or ads: deep, pristine pools of spring water; majestic alpine peaks… In reality, bottled water is just water; however, that fact isn’t stopping people from buying a lot of it. Here are some solid reasons to kick the bottled water habit.

Via: Term Life Insurance

Sometimes I feel like tossing bottled water down the toilet to show my disdain. Maybe I’m not the only one?

A recent post at the Intuit Blog featured a great visual guide / infograph describing how small cutbacks in the home can lead to great savings. Things like changing to CFL’s, insulating the home, etc. were noted. One thing I found interesting was their idea to help save money with each flush:

A 20oz or 32oz bottle filled with water and placed in the toilet tank will reduce water use. Each flush is about one cent, roughly $48 a year.

What a great way to make use of bottled water, should you have it lying around. I’m sure I’ve never mentioned this before, but this is certainly a way you can actually save money by using bottled water [in a way I'm sure companies like Dasani and Aquafina are not quite embracing].

Budgeting: A Visual Guide to How Small Cutbacks Lead to Great Savings [Quicken Personal Finance Tips]