NutritionDoc

Thanks to ads featuring bubbling mountain streams and pristine glaciers, more than half of all Americans now drink bottled water to the tune of 4 billion dollars a year. As a nation, we drink more bottled water  than any other country in the world.

 

Finding out where your bottled water comes from is no easy task. Since bottling plants are not required by law to disclose their water source, the only way to know for sure is to contact the company. And they may or may not oblige, depending on whether they really want you to know.

 

Aquafina bottled water is drawn from municipal water in Detroit and Fresno, among other cities. And it is not the only one tapping city water supplies. According to a report by the D.C.-based Natural Resources Defense Council, as much as 40% of bottled water is nothing more than treated tap water.

 

Most bottled waters are safe, but some are not. It depends on where the water comes from and how it is treated . . . and whether it is tainted. Although the Food and Drug Admin regulates bottled water safety, states end up handling most safety issues. The FDA only regulates water sold for interstate distribution, which accounts for only 30% to 40% of the bottled water sold in the US.

 

Even bottled water that is sold nationally and falls under FDA jurisdiction is not neccessarily any safer than tap water which is monitored by the Environmental Protection Agency.Compared to EPA standardes for city tap water, FDA regulations are considerably weaker.

 

Another factor driving consumer's plunge into bottled water is taste. When ABC's 20/20 TV show conducted an informal blind taste test comparing bottled and tap water, they found more people preferred tap. Surprisingly, Evian, the most expensive bottled water, scored the lowest.

 

Big city water systems generally have better quality water than small towns. But, an NRDC report on tap water found 4 major cities - Atlanta, Albuquerque, San Francisco ande Fresno - to have fair-to-substandard drinking water.

 

What compromises quality is runoff from sewage systems, contaminated land sites, wastes and industrial pollution and are the biggest water polluting problems cities face, along with aging infrastructures.

 

If you want to know what is in your tap water, look at your local Water Quality Report, a document required by law to be sent to homeowners each year by July 1.

 

While there is no guarantee that either bottled or tap water is safe from contaminants, there are ways to lower your risk. Here are some suggestions:

 

Bottled Water:

 

1. Buy a major brand from a company that is a member of the International Bottled Water Assoc. Check online at www.bottledwater.org - click "What is IBWA", then "Brand List".

2. Buy bottled water from a store that sells a lot of water.

3. Store bottled water in a cool place.

 

Tap Water:

1. Run tap water for 20 seconds in the morning to clear out chemicals leached from pipes during the night.

2. Let water sit in an open container for several hours: much of the chlorine will evaporate, improving taste.

3. Use a filtering system.

4. Have your tap water tested to check from home plumbing problems.