James M. Stewart Public Health Ph.D. Program Walden University

Questions to ponder How is bottled Water Different from municipal tap water? Who regulates the quality and safety of Bottled water? Why do people drink bottled water? What are the costs of Bottled water?

Bottled water basics Bottled Water drinking has grown from between 6% and 13% in the past five years. (Posnick, 2002) It is estimated to be 28% of all beverages consumed in the U.S. (Rodwan, 2009). Bottled water is regulated by the FDA, the EPA regulates tap water. Both regulate quality to protect the public. (Moeller, 2005) (Posnick, 2002) (Rodwan, 2009) (The York Water Company, 2009)

Basics People drink bottled water due to convenience, taste, portability and the impression of purity, as well as when the water quality is deemed unsafe. (Rodwan, 2009) (Ward, 2009)

Safety Most sources, that bottled water is generally safe. Bottled water that has been independently tested is found to be very similar to tap water.(EPA, 2005) (Naidenko, 2008) (Posnick, 2002) (Ward, 2009) Bottled water is generally not disinfected. Bottled water is usually tested by independent laboratories on behalf of the bottlers.

Safety They are not required to notify the public if there is an increase in contamination. Tap water is usually tested more frequently and is required to report increases in contamination. (Dixon, 2008) (EPA, 2005) (Mac Kenzie, 1994) (Naidenko, 2008) (Posnick, 2002) (The York Water Company, 2009)

Costs Over 1.5 million barrels of oil are used each year to produce the bottles. Of the bottles sold in 2006, roughly 36 billon bottles, one fifth of these were recycled. The rest were disposed of in landfills, the ocean, littered into the environment or incinerated. (Naidenko, 2008)

Costs Bottled water sells at prices upwards of $6 per gallon. Tap water often costs several cents per gallon. In some localities the water for both comes from the same sources. (EPA, 2005) (Moeller, 2005) (Naidenko, 2008) (Posnick, 2002) (Rodwan, 2009)

Resources Dixon, B. (2008). Bottled Water and Bacteria. The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 8 (10), 590. EPA. (2005, September). Bottled Water Basics. Retrieved January 10, 2010, from Water Health Series: Holzer, J. M. (2008). Biomonitoring of Perfluorinated Compounds in Children and Adults Exposed to Perfluorooctanoate-Contaminated Drinking Water. Environmental Health Perspectives, 116 (5), Mac Kenzie, W. R. (1994). A Massive Outbreak in Milwaukee of Cryptosporidium Infection Transmitted through the Public Water Supply. New England Journal of Medicine, 331 (3), Michaud, D. S.-C. (2007). Total Fluid and Water Consumption and teh Joint effect of Exposure to Disinfection By-Products on Risk of Bladder Cancer. Environmental Health Perspectives, 115 (11), Moeller, D. W. (2005). Environmental Health (third ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America: Harvard University Press.

Resources Naidenko, O. L. (2008, October). Bottled Water Quality Investigation: 10 Major Brands, 38 Pollutants. Retrieved January 14, 2010, from Environmental Working Group Reports: Posnick, L. M. (2002, August/ September). Ask the Regulators--Bottled Water Regulation and the FDA. (C. Bailey, Ed.) Food Safety Magazine. Rodwan, J. G. (2009, April/March). Confronting Challenges-U.S. and International Bottled Water Developments adn Statistics for Bottled Water Reporter, The York Water Company. (2009) Annual Drinking Water Quality Report. Retrieved January 18, 2010, from York Water Company: Ward, L. A. (2009). Health Benefits About Bottled Water: A qualitative Study. BMC Public Health, 9 (196), 1-9.

For more information Food and Drug Administration Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition Outreach and Information Center-(888) or International Bottled Water Association-(800) EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline 1(800) Natural Resources Defense Council Environmental Working Group