Gloria Alonzo

English 301: Section 5

Why tap water is better than you think
Water accounts for approximately 70% of the human body; it is referred to as the elixir of
life, and is essential to human survival. Although purchasing bottled water has brought big
business to the United States, municipal drinking water (tap water) is a better option because of
its low price, strict health regulations and benefits to the environment. The International Bottled
Water Association (IBWA) (2013) discovered that over the span of one year, US plastic use has
increased from 9.1 billion gallons to 9.67 billion gallons.
The US is known to have a consumer culture that uses many forms of advertisements
such as promising the purest and most refreshing bottled water. These advertisements show a
plastic water bottle and in the background green mountains and clear lakes. According to the
National Resource Defense Council (2013),
discovered than on average one third of the
US population consumes bottled water on a
regular basis. Boesler (2013), an economist
from the University of Michigan, found that
bottled water is priced on average of $1.22
Botlled water is often disguised with backgrounds of
nature.
http://www.nestle-watersna.com/en/bottled-water-brands

per gallon and suggests that consumers are

paying up to 300 times more than they
would pay for tap water. The bottled water

industry is so successful due to advertisements declaring that their water derives from the purest
sources on Earth. In reality companies such as Aquafina, one of the most popular brands of

bottled water, released the actual source of the water they place in bottled. In these documents
Aquafina states that they collect water from local municipalities and proceed to bottle them after
treatment (Aquafina, 2015).
Taste and aesthetics also play a role in the increased consumption of bottled water. Some
people favor Aquafina, Fiji, or Voss water because of the idea that imported water is of better
quality or tastes better. Dr. Dietrich (2006), a researcher on Analytical Chemistry, Environmental
Chemistry, and Environmental Engineering Sources, found that water taste, depends on the
geology surround the water; chemicals used during water treatment chemical reactions that occur
while storing water. This research suggests that water taste has a large influence on consumer
preferences. I, for example, do not like the taste of bottled waters that are enhanced with
minerals. Another example is tap water that may have a chlorine taste that derives from the
residual chlorine in pipes. Taste of water can be an important factor that contributes to buying
bottled water or drinking water straight from the tap. A simple way to solve the chlorine taste
could be to buy a reusable water filter that gets rid of tastes or as place your water in a
refrigerator to get rid of unwanted taste (Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District, n.d.).
Water treatment means the way that water is cleared of any chemicals or microorganisms
that may be harmful to humans. The treatment process includes: microfiltration, ozonation, and
running the water through ultra violet light for disinfection purposes. It is important to note that
all of these processes are already done during municipal drinking water treatment. The EPA
(2015) is in charge of making sure that tap water meets all of the strict drinking water standards
set up by the Safe Drinking Water Act. Bottled water advertisements also say that it is a healthier
alternative than soda or other sugary drinks. Although bottled water is a healthier alternative than
soda, drinking tap water will provide the same replenishment to the body. While bottled water

consumers are concerned about the safety of the water they drink, the health risks posed by the
plastic container are many times ignored
Some people who support bottled water declare that one of their concerns about drinking
tap water is that it could be harmful to their health. The most common fear is disinfection-byproducts (DBPs), also known as trihalomethanes. DBPs are created when chlorine, used in
municipal drinking water, binds with other chemicals during transportation to homes or
businesses (CDC, 2009). The benefits of chlorine are that it provides a strong residual for
transportation through pipes, deactivates most microorganisms, and is less expensive than other
cleaners. It is understandable that people with compromised or lowered immune systems are
cautious when choosing to drink tap water. Checking respective municipal drinking water reports
will help ensure that those people are not exposing themselves to levels of naturally occurring
bacteria. Most of these bacteria are not detrimental to human health but peace- of-mind can be
insured with a small water filter.
Although high levels of arsenic found in tap water can cause cancer in certain organ
systems current research has found no serious health risks when exposed to low levels of DPBs
(Villanueva, C. M., et al., 2014). The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) constantly
regulated the levels of approximately 91 contaminants and indicators in tap water. In their
Diduch, M., Polkowska, ., & Namienik, J., found that the way bottled water is stored and
transported changes the final outcome of the water (2013). According to research done by a
panel of gastroenterologists, reusing plastic water bottles can lead to bacterial contamination
especially when using strong soaps and leaving bottled in areas of high temperature (K., Linda,
P., Leising, T., McCarthy, L., Hahn, M. Dunford, & M. McKernon, 2007). Both of these studies

suggest that drinking bottled water has a high degree of risk, which can be avoided by drinking
tap water.
Moreover the risks to the environment highly outweigh the potential risks to ones health
in the long run. The rate at which Americans are consuming bottled water is unsustainable, data
suggests that the amount of Americans drinking bottled water will continue to increase and
almost 38 million plastic water bottled will end us as waste in landfills and contribute to
pollution of the environment (Speer, 2012). On the topic of the California drought, the IBWA
(2015) states that in one year the US used 10.9 billion gallon and suggests that Los Angeles uses
that amount in three weeks. What IBWA fails to mention is that rather than spending electrical
energy, petroleum, and water to manufacture plastic bottles, all of those resources could have be
preserved.
Other statistics show that polyethylene
terephthalate (PET) bottles are being recycled at merely
28% in the US (US EPA, 2010). It is estimated that PET
bottles make up 2,570,000 tons of waste created each
year (US EPA, 2010). These numbers suggest that there
is dire need for efforts to end the use of these materials
for the sake of our environment. For instance, Matar,
Nouri, Jaber, Mohamad Y., and Searcy, Cory, (2014) in
their study on reusing PET plastic found that using
Acknowledging the amount of resources
used during bottling is important in
eliminating environmental damage.
http://pacinst.org/publication/bottledwater-and-energy-a-fact-sheet/

biodegradable and natural resources are much better for

the environment. Unlike PET plastic these materials are
chosen because of how easily they breakdown on their

own without harming nature. The authors also acknowledge that this process is efficient and
economical because landfills are more able to fit in waste that actually has nowhere to go. Some
other alternatives to help put an end to plastic waste is to invest in BPA-free, (Bisphenol A)
reusable water bottles. Many companies as well as university campuses around the nation are
installing free water refill stations. For example, Cal State Fullerton has recycled 100,518 plastic
bottles, approximately 1.41 tons, since installing water refill stations in 2014 (CSUF News
Service, 2015). This means that more students on campus are taking advantage of refill stations
rather than purchasing bottled water on or off campus. Richard Wilk (2006), in his study about
culture behaviors towards bottled water, discovered that bottled water has created a culture that
does not care so much about destroying the environment. This suggests that once the majority of
the US agrees to the idea that plastic bottled water is harming the environment it has the potential
to make people want to take up the practice of drinking tap water.
As the bottled water industry begins to acknowledge that tap water and their water have
similar qualities, if not sources, it is important to become educated on the scientific facts rather
than being sold an idea. For many years now the bottled water industry has sold their product as
the better, cleaner version of tap water. Municipalities have fought back by providing research
statistics backing up their claims that tap water has larger benefits than tap water. Water is
essential to the survival of humankind and the exploitation of this natural resource, and the belief
that there is an unrestricted abundance of it, will have long lasting repercussions for future
generations.

References

Boesler, M. (2013). Bottled water costs 2000 times as much as tap water.
http://www.businessinsider.com/bottled-water-costs-2000x-more-than-tap-2013-7
Center for Disease Control. (2009), Disinfection by products.
http://www.cdc.gov/biomonitoring/pdf/THM-DBP_FactSheet.pdf
CSUF News Service. (2015). Expanding take back the tap.
http://news.fullerton.edu/2015su/bottle-refill-stations.aspx
Denehy, Janice. (2008). "Water for sale: what are the costs?." The Journal of school Nursing
24(2), 59-60.
Diduch, M., Polkowska, ., & Namienik, J. (2013). Factors affecting the quality of bottled
water. Journal Of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology, 23(2), 111-119.
doi:10.1038/jes.2012.101
Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District, (n.d). No health hazard from tap water with unpleasant
taste and odor.
http://www.evmwd.com/news/displaynews.asp?NewsID=458&TargetID=47
Feeney, D. F. (2015). Beware of your tap water. Nutritional Perspectives: Journal Of The
Council On Nutrition, 38(2), 5-6 2p
Food and Drug Administration (FDA). (2015). CFR - code of federal regulations title 21
http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/cfrsearch.cfm?fr=165.110
Gleick, P. H., & Cooley, H. S. (2009). Energy implications of bottled water. Environmental
Research Letters, 4(1), 014009.
Hu, Z., Morton, L., & Mahler, R. (2011). Bottled water: United states consumers and their
perceptions of water quality. International Journal of Environmental Research and
Public Health, 8(2), 565-578

International Bottled Water Association. (2015). Bottled water & california.

http://www.bottledwater.org/california-drought
International Bottled Water Association. (2013). United states consumption of water bottles
show continued growth, increasing 6.2 percent in 2012; Sales up 6.7 percent.
http://www.bottledwater.org/us-consumption-bottled-water-shows-continued-growthincreasing-62-percent-2012-sales-67-percent
K., Linda, P., Leising, T., McCarthy, L., Hahn, M. Dunford, & M. McKernon. (2007) Bottled
water myths: Separating fact from fiction. Nutrition Issues in Gastroenterology (50). 8793.
Matar, N., Jaber, M.,Y., & Searcy, C. (2014). A reverse logistics inventory model for plastic
bottles. International Journal of Logistics Management, 25(2), 315.
http://search.proquest.com/docview/1651051214?accountid=9840
National Resource Defense Council. (2013). Bottled water: Pure drink or hype executive
summary. http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/bw/exesum.asp
PepsiCo Inc. (2015). Bottled water information
http://www.aquafina.com/pdf/bottledWaterInformation_en.pdf
Speer, Anh. (2012). Reusable water bottles help you go green and stay healthy.
www.isustainableearth.com
United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA). (2010). Municipal solid waste
generation, recycling, and disposal in the united states: facts and figures for 2010
http://www3.epa.gov/epawaste/nonhaz/municipal/pubs/msw_2010_rev_factsheet.pdf
US Environmental Protection Agency. (2015). Drinking water contaminants- Standards and
regulations. http://www.epa.gov/dwstandardsregulations

Villanueva, C. M., Kogevinas, M., Cordier, S., Templeton, M. R., Vermeulen, R., Nuckols, J. R.,
... & Levallois, P. (2014). Assessing exposure and health consequences of chemicals in
drinking water: current state of knowledge and research needs. Environmental Health
Perspective.122(3), 213-221.
Wilk, R. (2006). Bottled water: The pure commodity in the age of branding
https://scholarworks.iu.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/2022/9923/wilk+chapter+in+JCC+p
dfa.pdf?sequence=1.
.