Experiments in Bottled Water Quality: Price vs. Purity Lanita Aslinger Undergraduate, Department of Biology Tennessee Technological University, 38505

Introduction Problem Statement: Prices of bottled waters vary, thus misleading the consumer into believing the purity of water has an ultimate effect on price.

How popular is it? “Americans drink 4 billion gallons of bottled water a year.” (The Western Journal of Medicine,2000) “Over the past few years the displays of bottled water in supermarkets and other retail outlets have grown to occupy anywhere from a single shelf up to one complete aisle...” (Thurman, et al., 2002) “Sales of non-carbonated bottled and canned beverages in convenience stores have been increasing at a rate faster than those of traditional ‘core’ beverages, beer and soda pop.” (Fucini, 1993)

HOW HEALTHY IS IT? “Bottled water claims to purity are bogus” (World Wildlife Fund, 2001) “1997 tests showed that several widely used brands [of bottled water] contained significant amounts of bacteria, arsenic, and volatile organic chemicals.” (Macht, 1999)

Hypothesis Statement Name brand bottled waters of varying classifications (i.e.Spring, Purified, Distilled) are not of better quality than discount store brands of the same classification.

Null Hypothesis Name brand bottled waters of varying classifications (i.e. Spring, Purified, Distilled) are of better quality than discount store brands of the same classification.

Project Summary The objective of this research is to determine the nutritional value of different bottled waters with an emphasis on their price differences. A variety of tests will be conducted on the bottled waters. Expected results: The most expensive bottled water will not be of a better quality than its less expensive competitor.

Methods and Materials  One gallon of each: Crystal Spring Water Crystal Purified Water Crystal Distilled Water Great Value Spring Water Great Value Purified Water Great Value Distilled Water  Each individual water is to be tested for contents of Calcium and Chlorine as well as pH, Alkalinity, and Total Dissolved Solute.  The following data chart will be used.

Product Name Price SourceCalciumpHAlkalinityChlorineTotal Dissolved Solute Crystal Spring Water $0.88 Spring; Blue Ridge, GA Crystal Purified Water $0.84Municipal Water Supply; Mableton, GA Crystal Distilled Water $0.88Municipal Water Supply; Mableton, GA Great Value Spring Water $0.58Naturalle Springs; Greenville, TN Great Value Purified Water $0.58Municipal Water Supply; Greenville, TN Great Value Distilled Water $0.58Municipal Water Supply; Greenville, TN

Expected Results The contents of the bottled waters will not vary by a significant amount, thus proving that purity of the water is not what effects the price.

Project Timeline All five tests can be administered at the same time.

Special Thanks To... The employees of Pool and Spa Depot Outlet in Cookeville, TN