How does tap water compare with bottled water?

Date:   2/22/2006 1:40:48 AM ( 19 y ago)

According to a study published in the Archives of Family Medicine (March 2000), you can probably put away your wallet and save your pennies. Tap water is likely to offer you more health benefits and is likely to be more "pure" than most brands of bottled water.

The study, conducted in Ohio, compared the levels of bacteria in 57 samples of bottled water vs. tap-water samples collected from four different water-processing plants. Bacterial counts were measured to determine whether they fell within an acceptable range. Bacterial counts in the bottled water samples ranged from less than 0.01 per milliliter to 4,900 per milliliter, whereas the counts in the tap water samples ranged from 0.2 per milliliter to 2.7 per milliliter, a much tighter and more reliable range.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Health Canada, the public water supply in the North America is one of the safest in the world, although the quality does vary by geographic location. (Your plumbing can also affect the quality, as well as the taste.) More than 90 potential contaminants of water have been identified, and there are “legal acceptable” standards for each. Water plants that don't adhere to these standards are required, by law, to inform their customers of the areas in which they fall short.

Manufacturers of bottled water, unfortunately, are not required to adhere to the same rigorous quality standards. For example, in the U.S., bottled water is not regulated by the EPA but by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Although the FDA attempts to follow the EPA's tap-water standards, it is not required to do so, thus allowing a greater range of bacterial contaminants to be present in bottled water, even though the source of many bottled waters is, in fact, tap water!

According to the World Health Organization, "Some substances may prove more difficult to manage in bottled than tap water. This is generally because bottled water is stored for longer periods and at higher temperatures than water distributed in piped distribution systems. Control of materials used in the containers for bottled waters is, therefore, of special concern. In addition, some micro-organisms, which are normally of little or no public health significance, may grow to higher levels in bottled waters."

On the other hand, some bottled water is superior to public tap water and bottled water is necessary when a natural disaster or other emergency strikes and the public water system is damaged.

However, for value, purity, health, and even convenience, a home water ionizer--connected to your public water supply -- is clearly superior to bottled water.

Bottled water is acidic, oxidizing and expensive. Drinking water from your water ionizer is alkaline and anti-oxidant, with no use of disposable plastic, and at a tiny fraction of the cost.

Learn more about Jupiter Water Ionizers

 

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