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February 4, 2008
Municipal water sources used in bottled water
By Erin McKeon
The bottles might be pretty and convenient on the go, but what’s inside that $1.25 bottle of water isn’t much different than what comes straight from the tap, some say.
According to the National Resource Defense Council, more than 25 percent of bottled water comes from a public source.
That might be true, said Paul Marowsky, the area representative for Culligan Water Systems, but the difference is in the filtration. Water used by companies comes from local water supplies, but it goes through many filtration devices before being bottled for consumers.
“The critical thing is you always want to look for reverse osmosis filtration,” Marowsky said. “When the water passes through a reverse-osmosis membrane, only the water molecules can pass through and everything else is rejected.”
Snow-capped mountain peaks and natural springs grace the labels of some bottled water, but current regulations don’t require bottling companies to list the source of their water. Still, according to Corporate Accountability International, many companies soon will do so.
This year, Aquafina will begin stating on labels that its water comes from public water sources and Nestlé Pure Life bottles will indicate whether the water comes from public, private or deep-well sources. Dasani mentions on its Web site, but not on the label itself, that it draws from local water sources.
Many people in Brazoria County buy bottled water or install filtration systems because they don’t like the taste of their tap water from the municipal water supply or they think their water is too hard.
Though Angleton resident Carrie Johnson said she didn’t know that some bottled water came from municipal water supplies, she said all that matters is that it tastes better.
“We had well water and it just didn’t taste good,” Sweeny resident Brenda Finley said. “We don’t drink plain tap water. We have a reverse osmosis and water softener system in our house. We clean with reverse-osmosis, which is 99 percent pure water, filtered.”
Whenever someone in her family would make coffee or tea, Finley said it tasted salty, so 18 years ago she had a reverse osmosis filtering system installed in her kitchen sink and a water softening system installed throughout her home for all other water uses.
Filters and water softeners are common, Marowsky said.
“Most of the time in the country they just want the brown-, yellow- and orange-colored water to stop,” Marowsky said. “They just want to do something about removing the chlorine. In the city, they don’t like the way their soaps work, their shampoo isn’t working as well and they came from some place with soft water. Their laundry is stiff and their colors fade and it’s the hard water in Brazoria County. It’s hard and it’s chlorinated.”
Brazosport Water Authority General Manager Landon Roberts said well water, which is mostly what those in the country use, has a lot of iron in it that causes the brownish-red color. He said there are few things that can be done to fix that problem, but suggested using a water softener system and a reverse osmosis system.
Rather than having expensive water filtration systems installed in their homes, many people choose to buy bottled water for drinking.
“I would say as far as taste, you are probably getting a little better with bottled water,” Roberts said. “There’s nothing wrong with bottled water, but it’s pretty pricey for what you’re getting. As far as safety and health-wise, bottled water isn’t any better than surface water.”
The Brazosport Water Authority serves the cities of Lake Jackson, Clute, Angleton, Richwood, Oyster Creek, Freeport and the surrounding areas, Roberts said.
In addition to the taste and texture of the water, some people have problems with the plastic used to make the bottles themselves.
In the United States, 79 percent of plastic bottles used were not recycled in 2006, according to the Container Recycling Institute.
Officials with The American Chemical Society have said that problem wouldn’t be so big if it weren’t for the chemicals released as the bottles heat in storage or in cars.
Most bottled water comes in polyethylene terephthalate bottles, but some scientists say when those bottles are stored in hot or warm temperatures, the chemical composition of the bottle is changed, which might cause chemicals to go into the water. The exact health risk is unknown at this time, but could include nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, American Chemical Society officials have said.
Bottled water may cost as much as 800 times more money than water from a tap, but that price is acceptable for Americans who consumed more than 8 million gallons of bottled water in the year 2006, a 10 percent increase from the year before, according to the National Resources Defense Council.
Erin McKeon is a reporter for The Facts. Contact her at (979) 237-0152.
http://thefacts.com/story.lasso?ewcd=adb8ddd49121311d
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