Water is essential to human existence and the preferred beverage for a healthy lifestyle. Yet, with increasing bottled water sales, questions have been raised about how healthy bottled water is for the environment.Bottled water and wasteBottled water is now the second-largest selling beverage in the country, according to the Beverage Marketing Corp. Consumers spent $15 billion on bottled water last year, more than they spent on iPods and movie tickets, wrote Charles Fishman in a July Fast Company article.In “Water, Water Everywhere: The growth of non-carbonated beverages in the U.S.,” the Container Recycling Institute writes that in three years the non-sparkling bottled water sales doubled, “going from 15 billion units sold in 2002 to 29.8 billion sold in 2005. This is almost seven times the 3.8 billion units sold in 1997. Sales of plastic water bottles one liter or less increased more than 115 percent, from 13 billion in 2002 to 27.9 billion in 2005.”CRI estimates that in 2005, 144 billion containers found their way to landfills, incinerators or were littered along roadways and elsewhere in the U.S. These containers included “54 billion aluminum cans, 52 billion plastic bottles and jugs, 30 billion glass bottles and about 10 billion pouches, cartons and drink boxes.”Ninety-six percent of the bottled water sold in 2005 was packaged in the petroleum product polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic bottles, CRI reports. Only 23.1 percent of all PET bottles sold in the U.S. were recycled. The institute estimates that “approximately 18 million barrels of crude oil equivalent were consumed in 2005 to replace the 2 million tons of PET bottles that were wasted instead of recycled.”Not only is petroleum used to create water bottles, but large quantities of fuel are used to transport the water as well. “Nearly a quarter of all bottled water crosses national borders to reach consumers, transported by boat, train, and truck,” the Earth Policy Institute reported in 2006.BIOTA Spring Water, based in Ouray, Colo., is lessening fossil-fuel dependence by using plastic polylactide (PLA) bottles instead of PET. PLA is made with corn-based oil instead of petroleum, making it biodegradable. The bottle breaks down after about 12 weeks in commercial composting situations. The company is currently investigating additives that will allow the bottle to biodegrade in home compost piles.”There’s a massive problem throughout the world,” said David Zutler, CEO and president of BIOTA. Billions of bottles are thrown away each year, he said. “We live in a disposable society,” he said. “It used to be that if our TV or hair dryer broke, we’d fix it. Now we just throw them away.”The source of bottled waterAccording to the American Water Works Association, the FDA requires bottlers to label their water identifying its source. The AWWA site lists the following common definitions used on bottled water labels:* Artesian water comes from a well “tapping a confined aquifer in which the water level stands at some height above the top of the aquifer.”* Mineral water is water containing more than 250 parts per million total dissolved solids originating from a “geologically and physically protected underground water source.” The minerals must be naturally occurring and cannot be added.* Purified water is water “produced by distillation, deionization, reverse osmosis or other suitable processes.” Distilled water is another common term for purified water.* Sparkling bottled water is water that “after treatment and possible replacement of carbon dioxide, contains the same amount of carbon dioxide that it had at emergence from the source.”* Spring water is water “derived from an underground formation from which water flows naturally to the surface of the earth at an identified location.”Consumers have a choice in the type of water they drink, and, although the major bottlers dominate the market, there are many brands and other types of bottled water.Colorado bottler Eldorado SpringsEldorado Springs differentiates itself from the big bottlers like Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Nestle because Eldorado Springs knows the source of its water, said company co-founder and vice president of marketing Jeremy Martin. “It’s not from municipal sources – it’s from the earth,” he said. “We can’t compete with the major bottlers like Coke or PepsiCo on price, but we compete on quality.”The local spring water is sold mostly in Colorado, with the exception of sales through retailers like Harry and David, Chipotle and Wild Oats. But Martin’s OK with that. “I’d rather have people in Colorado drinking our water,” than distributing it across the country with greater impacts on the environment, Martin said.Still, Martin said environmental issues associated with the bottled water industry are a “poor reason to discourage people not to drink bottled water.” But why drink bottled water when consumers can get water from their tap?Consumers don’t consider tap water an alternative beverage, Martin said. “Spring water is a ‘beverage’ while tap water is not,” he said. Chemicals like chlorine and fluoride are added to tap water, while nothing is added to Eldorado Springs’ water. It comes straight from the spring, he said; the only processing involved is when the water is sent through a sedimentary filter, eliminating grit, dirt and pebbles.Martin said he doesn’t believe heightened awareness of global warming will stop people from drinking bottled water. “It may cause more people to opt for our five-gallon bottles,” he said. The bottles are reused and recycled when unusable. Martin said he doesn’t believe consumers will sacrifice their health for the environment. “They’ll keep drinking bottled water.”But, is bottled really better?Julia Murphy, hydrogeologist with Groundwater Investigators, doesn’t think bottled water is better. First, the FDA regulates bottled water quality, not the Environmental Protection Agency, she said. But the EPA requires quarterly reporting on water quality from municipal systems. Bottled water companies keep a log of their monitoring but they’re not required to regularly report it, Murphy said.When it comes to bottled water, she said the FDA “relies heavily on consumer complaints.”Many bottled waters are stripped of healthy minerals. “The mineral content in groundwater is exceptionally healthy,” she said. “Generally, groundwater is the best water you can drink,” which is great news for private well owners.However, private wells should be monitored for water quality.Gary Hall, director of the Colorado State University Extension Program in El Paso County, recommends that private well users test their water quality every five years for “household suitability” and annually for bacteria. A household suitability test is provided through the CSU Extension Program for $20. The El Paso County Department of Health and Environment provides bacterial testing for $18.Murphy recommends that private wells also be tested at least once for EPA drinking water standards, which costs $260. The standards are the same for municipal and bottled water sources and include 80 different parameters, Murphy said. Another benefit to the EPA-certified testing is that they test for 47 different organic compounds, she said, some of which are cancer-causing.Having control over individual water quality can be beneficial when it comes to health. For instance, if an individual develops a heart condition that requires less sodium in the diet, that person can monitor the sodium levels in the water and make adjustments if necessary, Hall said.Before investing in treatment or filtration systems, both Murphy and Hall recommend testing the water to confirm what type of treatment is necessary. One couple who attended Hall’s water testing workshop spent $3,000 on a filtration system before they tested the water. Tests showed the water was fine.Black Forest resident and private well user Laurie Williams uses an in-line whole house filtration system. “We purchased this when we noticed the usual mineral residue in the toilets, the shower heads, etc.,” Williams said. “We also have a PUR filter on the kitchen faucet. We did this for filtration of sediment and minerals. We had to purchase a new coffeemaker every six months.” The faucet filter helped with the build up in the coffeemaker, she said.Hall said the systems are good for taste and purity, adding that “if you don’t maintain filtration systems you can contaminate your water.”What about city water?“Colorado Springs Utilities completes more than 360 water quality tests a month to ensure drinking water is safe,” according to their Web site. CSU spokesman Steve Berry said, “Springs Utilities provides water that continually meets or surpasses all state and federal standards for drinking water.”Last month at the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ 75th annual meeting in Los Angeles, “the country’s mayors placed Colorado Springs Utilities’ water among the best tasting water in the United States,” Berry said. “Colorado Springs was among the top-five finalists, with St. Louis winning the top prize. A total of 93 cities competed in the contest.” Berry said that over the course of three days, mayors from across the country participated in a blind taste test, ranking Colorado Springs’ water above other cities like Arvada, Colo., and Green Bay, Wis.CNN, The New York Times and other national media reported in July that several of the country’s largest bottlers are selling purified municipal water. It has yet to be seen whether this news will affect bottled water sales in the U.S. What is known is that drinking water is a good thing. When it comes in a bottle, recycling is a good thing, too.Don’t like the taste of chlorine? Springs Utilities offers these tips:* Place fresh cold tap water in an uncovered glass pitcher in the fridge overnight* Boil cold tap water for five minutes* Use a water filtration system* Buy a filtering pitcher at Target or Wal-Mart.
