Is Your Bottled Water Better Than Tap Water?

Thirty years ago, selling bottled water was an odd thing in my country. Water is everywhere back then, clean water is available in community wells, many rivers is still clean and although tap water is not as widespread as now, but the abundance of clean water makes us hard to believe that selling bottled water would sell. But now, bottled water is everywhere. They came by the gallons, liters and cups. But is it safe?

Years ago, we are kept worried by the plastic used as container of these bottled water. We fear they are carcinogenic and could cause other health problems for us. But nowadays, most bottled water container is made from polyethylene terephthalate or PET or PETE. You could usually see the symbols at the bottom of the bottle along with its indicated number, a number 1. You may notice the word “phthalate” there, but rest assured, Ken Smith, PhD, immediate past chair of the American Chemical Society’s division of environmental chemistry, said that the bottles are generally safe. Although the bottles may leach chemicals into the water they contain when they are stored in hot or warm temperature, so try not put them on direct sunlight or other source of heat and smell. Chemicals like Antimony could develop more the longer the bottle sits around in store or in your home. Antimony is known to cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Not all water bottles are made from PET; some came in jugs, or other types of hard plastics. However, in 2007, National Institute of Health (NIH) committee agreed that bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical found in polycarbonate (used to make water-cooler jugs, sport-water bottles, and other hard plastics, but not PET), may cause neurological and behavioral problems in fetuses, babies and kids.

Correlate with that, NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) a nonprofit organization in the U.S have found that some of the water bottles samples they are studying indeed contain phthalates in the amount exceeding Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards. However, water bottles do not contain the chemical, even though phthalates is in their name. Which means that phthalates detected is either from the water source or got into the water during processing at the bottling plant. Since bottlers don’t have to let consumer know from where their product came from or has it contaminated yet, we should be careful on choosing the water we drink. In Indonesia, water in gallon size container has their own refill center. Each has their own distinctive differences, some advertise that their water is hexagonal, or have extra O2, or RO filtered water or fresh water from some mountain spring. But the truth is, most of them come from municipal supply. Even in the U.S, over 25 percent of their bottled water comes from municipal supply. The problem is not where the water came from, but of how pure it is.

In 1999, NRDC tested more than 1000 bottles of water from 103 brands. While noting that most bottled water is safe, the organization found that at least one sample of a third of the brands contained bacterial or chemical contaminants, including carcinogens, in levels exceeding industry standards.

Apart from health hazard, buying bottled water takes its toll on the environment side too. It takes 273 billion litres of water a year, worldwide, just to make the empty bottles. And while we struggle to cut down on our consumption of fossil fuel, bottled water increases them. PET is made from virgin petroleum. The more bottles we use, the more virgin petroleum will be needed. Remember food miles, some bottled water came along way before getting to our hands. Which means more petroleum they use and added carbon along the way.

Water is essential to us, and the fact that less and less clean water available for us makes us have to be wiser in using them and choosing them. There’re safer and environmentally friendlier ways for us to use water, like use municipal water; just remember to boil them first and also have them checked for lead or other contaminants, just to keep you safe. Bring your own water bottle made from stainless steel or glass. Whenever you buy a bottle of water, check when they are produced and where you bought them (make sure it’s not subjected to direct sun or other source of heat and smell); we don’t want antimony or other chemicals to leak to our water. And keep our water supply safe and clean. It’s a resource we don’t want to loose.