don's report archive

by Donald B. Ardell, Ph. D.

Wellness in the Headlines
(Don's Report to the World)

One of the most egregious, ongoing fads that is relatively harmless, save for the waste of consumer money involved, is bottled water. How big a fad is it? Annual sales of a product that is no better than tap water and sometimes worse (and, of course, occasionally better, depending on which bottled water and which city's water is being tapped) are $35 billion worldwide and $5.7 billion in this country (projected to rise to 7.2 billion gallons by 2005.) By next year, according to a New York research and consulting firm called Beverage Marketing, bottled water will surpass coffee and milk in volume sales as the second largest beverage (soft drinks are first.) According to Penn and Teller, who artfully dealt with bottled water in Episode 7 of their HBO hit show, Bullshit, it's a senseless waste of money. According to the more scientific Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), "bottled water sold in the United States is not necessarily cleaner or safer than most tap water."

The NRDC tested more than 1,000 bottles of 103 brands of bottled water. It discovered that most products are not cleaner or safer than tap water. "While most of the tested waters were found to be of high quality, some brands were contaminated: about one-third of the waters tested contained levels of contamination -- including synthetic organic chemicals, bacteria, and arsenic -- in at least one sample that exceeded allowable limits under either state or bottled water industry standards or guidelines."

Do you buy this stuff? If so, save your money -- and the environment in the process. (Well, you won't SAVE the environment but at least you won't be contributing so much to its deterioration.) In some states, including Florida, Michigan, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin, bottlers pump as much as 500 gallons of water per minute from rural groundwater reserves. These companies also drain local wells, wetlands and streams. They want you to believe they care about your health. Ha! They care only for corporate profits, which, of course, is true for all corporations. The only difference is the bottled water people are sanctimonious about their intentions, more so than the rest.

One of the worst offenders is the Perrier Group of America Inc. A subsidiary of the multinational conglomerate Nestle, these people would have you think the source of their product is some pristine glacier or remote, crystal-clear mountain spring. In some cases, a garden hose is more likely! Just kidding -- the most likely source is one of 75 groundwater sites across the US, if you bought a product from the Perrier Group. Perrier bottles 15 brands, including Ice Mountain, Deer Park, Zephyrhills, Poland Springs and Ozarka.

Recent studies have called into question the idea that we all need to drink about two quarts of water, or 8 glasses a day, a notion that drives people to drink (bottled water.) Personally, I suspect a conspiracy is at the root of this bottled water nonsense and the idea that we need eight glasses daily. Who's behind the conspiracy? Well, we can't blame Saddam anymore, so I think the bottled water craze could be the work of aliens. On the other hand, maybe our new enemies, the French, are to blame.

By the way, there is also strong evidence that one fluid is as good as another for whatever daily hydration level we DO need to obtain. Even caffeinated drinks count toward a healthful daily fluid intake for most people, based on peer-reviewed journal articles addressed to water consumption research. To an extent, the same seems to hold for alcoholic beverages, such as beer, if taken in moderation, according to Dartmouth Medical School physician Heinz Valtin in a study published in the American Journal of Physiology.

The NRDC has made several recommendations urging leadership by FDA (which does basically nothing at present, having less than one staff person to deal with the issue) on bottled water problems. These include calls for bottled water standards as high as those applicable to city tap water supplies! In addition, the FDA should set strict limits on certain contaminants in bottled water for safety reasons, particularly bacteria and arsenic. Further, new powers should be given to the FDA, such as writing and enforcing rules that apply to all bottled water distributed in this country, or within a state, carbonated or not. At present, there are major restrictions against such functioning. Finally, the NRDC suggests water bottlers should be required to disclose water sources, water treatments and other key information as is now required of tap water systems. They also favor a penny-per-bottle fee on bottled water sales to support testing, regulatory programs and enforcement at state and national levels.

If you are going to persist in subsidizing this industry with bottled water purchases, do a little research to increase the chances that your chosen brand of expensive water is safe and better than the free tap alternative. Call your state drinking water program or the EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800 426-4791) for useful information, including names of certified labs that have done independent testing.

Be well. Look on the bright side of life.

(Note: This essay will be filed in the archives in the MENTAL DOMAIN under the skill area of factual knowledge. Additional articles related to this theme may be found there.)

(Ed. Note: Views expressed in this and other columns are those of the author and not necessarily those of the SeekWellness Editorial Board.)

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