Bottled vs. Tap

When I was a kid my Grand-pop used to raise a glass of tap water in the sunlight and say, "It's the best drink that ever was and it's free!" In those days, the water service came out of municipal taxes and was not assessed separately like now.

Things have come a long way since then, and you can pay almost 5 bucks a bottle for "the best drink ever invented!" And you thought gas was expensive!

So is expensive bottled water really better than what comes out of your tap?

If you are objective and look at the testing that has been done, you will come to a few conclusions. These are:

1) Bottled water is of variable quality and the quality and the price are unrelated. However, the quality and the marketing campaign are.

2) 20% of bottled water tests are done in one state…California. In CA, bottled water failed the minimum state requirements for cleanliness, as measured by contaminants and bacteria counts.

In some cases, the contaminants and bacteria could have been hazardous to human health!

3) Tap water also failed, but in less than 12 % of the cases.

4) Tap water was more stringently tested and violations were more likely to be prosecuted.

So the bottom line is that bottled water is less likely to be tested, and more likely to contain impurities that are defined as hazardous to human health than tap water, at least in the current body of scientific studies.

You should not consume bottled water for purity unless the company is actually involved in an independent testing program. Few are.

The recent scandal over a major bottled water manufacturer simply filling up the bottles with tap water also points out that where money is involved, anything goes.

Bottled water is now a 4 billion dollar industry!

So what do I do and what do I recommend?

My tap water here in Southeastern PA is tested and apparently passes the government’s regulations. But it smells bad and tastes funny, often reeking of chlorine or stale fish.

I solve my dilemma by using a good quality commercial water filter that ionizes and alkalinizes the water as it purifies it.

What comes out looks clean, passes my own little home testing routine and tastes just fine.

In the end run the decision becomes one of personal choice. But one thing is clear…water isn’t free anymore.

Sorry, Grand-pop!