Study: Bottled water is no less polluted than tap water, costs 1,900 times more

A study by an environmental advocacy group found that bottled water contains as many contaminants -- if not more -- as tap water.

The main advertising point for the bottled water companies is that it's purer than tap water, but this study says otherwise. Though the presence of contaminants falls within federal health standards, it is not totally pure like they claim. The study tested 10 brands of bottled water and found 38 chemicals including bacteria, caffeine, acetaminophen, fertilizer, solvents, plastic-making and the radioactive element strontium. Many of these can be traced to their tap water origins but some leaches out of plastic bottles. Two of the brands violated California state standard. Jane Houlihan, an environmental engineer who co-authored the study states in the report:

In some cases, it appears bottled water is no less polluted than tap water and, at 1,900 times the cost, consumers should expect better.

Joe Doss, president of the International Bottled Water Association, disagrees with this study and calls their findings “alarmist”. He said all bottled water meets the federal health standards. The study was conducted by the Washington-based Environmental Working Group, founded by scientists advocating stricter regulation for water. They purchased bottled water from nine states and Washington, D.C. Among the ten brands, two were found to have more contaminants. These two brands are Sam’s Choice sold by Wal-Mart and Acadia of Giant Food supermarkets. These two brands, as well as others, mostly use tap water as their initial source and filter it and package it into bottled water. The study found a high concentration of chlorine byproducts, known as trihalomethanes, reaching over 35 parts per billion. California has a legal limit of 10 parts per billion or less and the industry’s International Bottled Water Association also has 10 parts as their limit. The federal limit however allows up to 80 parts per billion. The advocacy group wants Wal-Mart to add this warning in their bottled water. The chlorine based contaminant has been connected with cancer. In the Wal-Mart and Giant Food bottled water, the highest concentration of chlorine byproducts, known as trihalomethanes, was over 35 parts per billion. California's limit is 10 parts per billion or less, and the industry's International Bottled Water Association makes 10 its voluntary guideline. The federal limit is 80. Wal-Mart spokeswoman Shannon Fredrick is puzzled by this report and she said the company will do further testing and bring them to safety limits. The group advises if people are worried about water contaminants then they can drink tap water with a carbon filter. There is also a new filtration method called “Zero Water” that helps remove contaminants as well as medicinal residues in water. You can make your own filtered water in homes instead of paying 1,900 times more.