Which Is Better, Tap Water or Bottled Water?
Water from the tap – is it safe?
Tap water is not always fit to drink. Most problems with water contamination are not with public water supplies, but with private wells and small water companies. Bottled water is only safer than tap water that has not been properly treated to remove contaminants.
If a farm well contains bacteria, drinking bottled water is an alternative to installing expensive filters. Some wells are contaminated with toxic organic chemicals from leaking underground gasoline tanks or landfills. Other wells are contaminated with pesticides. Removal of these chemicals may be too expensive or even impossible. In that case, bottled water may be the only safe supply of water available.
The US Environment Protection Agency (EPA) estimated in 1986 that some 40 million Americans were using drinking water containing a hazardous level of lead. If the level of lead in the drinking water is more than 5 parts per million, steps should be taken to reduce the level. If the lead level cannot be reduced sufficiently, bottled water should be considered.
The only way to determine if bottled water is safer to drink than water from the tap is to compare the laboratory test results. The results of tests for substances regulated by EPA should be available from the water company that supplies the tap water. If the source of tap water is a private well, the owner should have a water sample analysed by an approved laboratory.
Is it healthier?
The Fair Packaging and Labelling Act prohibits bottles from making claims that bottled water is healthier than tap water. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requirements prohibit bottled water labels from listing the minerals the water contains because they believe that the amounts are so small that there is little if any added benefit from drinking bottled water.
Some buyers may feel that the minerals in bottled water make it healthier. According to the American Medical Association, there may be a slight chance that bottled water is more healthful, but any benefits would be very small when compared to exercising, eating properly or not smoking. Some customers have switched from high calories drinks like soda or beer to bottled water. Others drink bottled water because it is a socially acceptable alternative to alcohol.
Unless your tap water is contaminated, bottled water may offer few, if any, health or safety benefits. It may simply be draining money from your wallet. In fact, some brands of bottled water may not be as healthy as your own tap water. A study by Consumer Reports magazines tested more than forty bottled water products as well as tap water from six different cities. They found the levels of some toxic chemicals in a few brands of bottled water exceeded the standards.
Does it taste better?
Some brands of bottled water do taste better than water from some taps. Most public and private water suppliers use chlorine as a disinfectant. Most bottling companies purify the water with ozone. Ozone, like chlorine, kills bacteria. It is more expensive to use, but the water has a better flavour. Some people drink water from a bottle because they prefer the taste.
The taste of water usually depends upon the minerals that have been dissolved from rocks. The only water that is likely to be free of minerals is distilled water. Distilled water is generally not purchased for drinking, but for use in batteries and steam irons. Distilled water is also used in chemical laboratories where minerals might interfere with chemical reactions.
Although bottled water does not taste better than water from most deep wells, some deep wells are drilled into rock with high sulfur content. The taste of sulfur may make water from these wells unacceptable for drinking.
There are several reasons why more and more people are buying bottled water. For some people it is a safety issue, but for most it is a matter of taste.