Tap Water- Editorial- this is v. interesting

Maybe it is time I kick my dependence on Poland Springs?

******

Published: August 1, 2007
On the streets of New York or Denver or San Mateo this summer, it seems the telltale cap of a water bottle is sticking out of every other satchel. Americans are increasingly thirsty for what is billed as the healthiest, and often most expensive, water on the grocery shelf. But this country has some of the best public water supplies in the world. Instead of consuming four billion gallons of water a year in individual-sized bottles, we need to start thinking about what all those bottles are doing to the planet’s health.

Here are the hard, dry facts: Yes, drinking water is a good thing, far better than buying soft drinks, or liquid candy, as nutritionists like to call it. And almost all municipal water in America is so good that nobody needs to import a single bottle from Italy or France or the Fiji Islands. Meanwhile, if you choose to get your recommended eight glasses a day from bottled water, you could spend up to $1,400 annually. The same amount of tap water would cost about 49 cents.

Next, there’s the environment. Water bottles, like other containers, are made from natural gas and petroleum. The Earth Policy Institute in Washington has estimated that it takes about 1.5 million barrels of oil to make the water bottles Americans use each year. That could fuel 100,000 cars a year instead. And, only about 23 percent of those bottles are recycled, in part because water bottles are often not included in local redemption plans that accept beer and soda cans. Add in the substantial amount of fuel used in transporting water, which is extremely heavy, and the impact on the environment is anything but refreshing.

Tap water may now be the equal of bottled water, but that could change. The more the wealthy opt out of drinking tap water, the less political support there will be for investing in maintaining America’s public water supply. That would be a serious loss. Access to cheap, clean water is basic to the nation’s health.

Some local governments have begun to fight back. Earlier this summer, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom prohibited his city’s departments and agencies from buying bottled water, noting that San Francisco water is “some of the most pristine on the planet.” Salt Lake City has issued a similar decree, and New York City recently began an advertising campaign that touted its water as “clean,” “zero sugar” and even “stain free.”

The real change, though, will come when millions of ordinary consumers realize that they can save money, and save the planet, by turning in their water bottles and turning on the tap.

Re: Tap Water- Editorial- this is v. interesting

I still won't drink the tap water in Long Island.

Re: Tap Water- Editorial- this is v. interesting

Re: Tap Water- Editorial- this is v. interesting

Re: Tap Water- Editorial- this is v. interesting

Re: Tap Water- Editorial- this is v. interesting

ct water has so much chlorine that i gag when i drink it

gah!

Re: Tap Water- Editorial- this is v. interesting

eta: I don't care how filtered..no way.

Worth the money.

Re: Tap Water- Editorial- this is v. interesting

this is interesting- it's from the FDA's website:

the extra expense of bottled water worth it? One thing consumers can depend on is that the FDA sets regulations specifically for bottled water to ensure that the bottled water they buy is safe, according to Henry Kim, Ph.D., a supervisory chemist at the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Office of Plant and Dairy Foods and Beverages. Kim, whose office oversees the agency's regulatory program for bottled water, says that major changes have been made since 1974, when the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) first gave regulatory oversight of public drinking water (tap water) to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Each time the EPA establishes a standard for a chemical or microbial contaminant, the FDA either adopts it for bottled water or makes a finding that the standard is not necessary for bottled water in order to protect the public health.

"Generally, over the years, the FDA has adopted EPA standards for tap water as standards for bottled water," Kim says. As a result, standards for contaminants in tap water and bottled water are very similar.

Re: Tap Water- Editorial- this is v. interesting

Re: Tap Water- Editorial- this is v. interesting

Re: Tap Water- Editorial- this is v. interesting

Re: Tap Water- Editorial- this is v. interesting

Re: Tap Water- Editorial- this is v. interesting

Well written editorial...

This is why I drink TAP water...

We live in the wealithiest country in the WORLD! our water is FINE!!!! when i went to Ecuador, the people had to buy water because even the LOCALS could nto drink the water there as it was filled with pesticides, raw sewage, etc. People think our water tastes bad? Try drinking or bathing in that! MIllions of people around the world have absolutely NO access to clean, safe and plentiful water. Women in Africa are still walking miles and miles a day bring water back to their homes in buckets because there is no safe plumbing. The bottled water business is just one more way Americans prove to the rest of the world that we are a greedy and wasteful society.

Also, the plastic and waste that is being left behind in the landfills, our soil, etc. is NOT worth it. Buy a brita and a Nalgene bottle (re-usable) and drink it from the sink!

Message edited 8/3/2007 12:21:11 PM.

Re: Tap Water- Editorial- this is v. interesting

I drink tap also...I find it tastes as good or better and the plastic waste alone is not worth it.

Re: Tap Water- Editorial- this is v. interesting

I was fine drinking the tap when I lived in Queens (my mom even is a volunteer for the EPA and has their water tested a few times a year - comes out fine) - but I won't drink it here in NJ. I always have to stop my parents from getting water from the kitchen sink and reminding them to use the filter on the fridge.

Re: Tap Water- Editorial- this is v. interesting

Are you sure you're *not* drinking tap water?

http://money.cnn.com/2007/07/27/news/companies/pepsi_coke/

Re: Tap Water- Editorial- this is v. interesting

I understand, but I still try to drink bottled water and always filtered water.

I think there is a lot of scientific research lacking in this matter. Not to mention the EPA has been very wrong about some pretty serious things. Also, there are a lot of leaking underground storage tanks and I don't know how much research has been made to their affect in the drinking water in the surrounding areas.


One thing that is a fact, there have been several cancer clusters outside NYC that have been linked to drinking water. I have noticed that a lot of women I know in LI are also developing cancer- specifically breast cancer.

Now I know there is no proof that links what I PERSONALLY consider to be cancer clusters to the drinking water, but its not really any chance I want to take.

Maybe I'm right, maybe I'm wrong. But it makes me feel safer.

Re: Tap Water- Editorial- this is v. interesting

Are we just assuming that LI tap is bad, or is there proof of it somewhere I can read?

We use tap + Britta water filters at home. I can taste the difference between tap and Britta after so many years of using it. I don't think tap tastes horrible but the chlorine is what I would question.

Re: Tap Water- Editorial- this is v. interesting

Re: Tap Water- Editorial- this is v. interesting

at home I used to drink tap water through the brita filter... now I have a filter inside of my refrigerator. Those are the only 2 ways I will drink tap water. I hate the taste.

Re: Tap Water- Editorial- this is v. interesting

at home-- I always drink tap water through the brita... but I buy bottles to have water on the go, while I work at my desk, or at the gym. If I chose to drink another liquid, let's say soda, I would still be using the bottles in the same way.

How about they look for a way to make biodegradable beverage containers. I know they make "plastic" silverware from corn starch or something like that.

I would say most of the reason that people buy bottled water is for conveinence. People are more on the go these days than they ever have been.

You can't change people's habits as easy as it is to create a mandate to the beverage companies to look for better solutions.

Re: Tap Water- Editorial- this is v. interesting

We were buying the cases of PS. I started thinking. We went through 1 case a week. At $5.00 a case, that is $20/month. That is $240 a year, AT LEAST in water. We switched to the Brita. $20 in filters for a year. And much less waste.


Sorry, but I feel like bottled water is just another thing we bought into.

Re: Tap Water- Editorial- this is v. interesting

Re: Tap Water- Editorial- this is v. interesting

Re: Tap Water- Editorial- this is v. interesting

i love tap water! bottles are so bad for the environment.