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Bottled water: Panacea or Plague?

by Dr. Tamim Younos

Disclaimer: Mentioning of trade names or organizations in this article is only for informational purposes only and does not constitute an endorsement of brands and/or organizations by the author, Virginia Water Resources Research Center, or Virginia Tech.

Please see the sidebar for reference citations and further reading.

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Why bottled water?
Health issues
Plastic pollution
Cost of bottled water
Final thought

Bottled water is a major global commodity, available everywhere, from big cities and small towns, to villages and remote corners of the world.  Water bottling is a multibillion dollar world-wide industry that ranges from very small local bottling operations to giant corporations like Coca-Cola. According to an Earth Policy Institute report, in 2004 the global consumption of bottled water reached 41 billion gallons, of which 17% took place in the U.S alone.

The concept of bottled water is not new. In ancient times, water-carrying vessels, mostly made from animal skin, were used to carry small and large volumes of water mostly from springs to royal palaces, peasant households, and war zones. Bottled waters of today mostly use plastic bottles and containers of various sizes and volumes.

Why bottled water?

What are the reasons for popularity and commercialization of bottled water?

First, there is the matter of perception. Some people think that bottled water is “cleaner” and “healthier” than tap water – although this perception is not correct most of the time.

Second, there is the matter of status and fashion.  In affluent societies, consumption of very expensive bottled water or so called “designer water” (a water of unique composition or source) represents status and has become fashionable.

Third, there is the matter convenience. For most consumers, portability of bottled water ensures all time availability. Travelers, athletes, white and blue color workers, students, politicians on the campaign trail, and many others use bottled water. It is considered a beverage of choice and correctly a healthy alternative to sodas and soft drinks.

Fourth, there is the matter of necessity - bottled water fills major emergency drinking water needs in disaster areas where water treatment and distribution systems are usually shut down and clean drinking water becomes fast scarce. Bottled water is also a necessity in small towns and rural communities of some developing countries where providing safe drinking water is cost prohibitive. For example, according to my colleague Heyddy Pichardo, in Veron, a small town in the southern tip of the Dominican Republic, about 85% of town population buys bottled water on a daily basis.

Fifth, there is bottled water commercial value – bottled water is a huge global industry and in some places water bottling industry uses local resources to create jobs and thus bring economic prosperity, not to mention exuberant profits to the industry itself.

Despite the popularity of bottled water and its potential benefits, serious questions have been raised about the appropriateness of increased bottled water production and consumption. These concerns can be categorized as follows: health issues, plastic pollution, and cost.

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Health issues

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates public water systems (tap water) that include water quality standards for drinking water, all aspects of water treatment and quality control. EPA mandates frequent monitoring and detection of potential contaminants in drinking water. From a regulatory perspective, bottled water is considered as food and therefore it is regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) [U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Title 21, Part 129 and Part 165.110(b)]. The federal regulations specifically address maximum allowable levels of chemical contaminants in bottled water. Water quality standards for chemicals in bottled water are identical to the allowed Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) in public drinking water systems. But while the EPA mandates daily and/or frequent monitoring of chemical contaminants in public drinking water systems, the FDA requires only once a year testing for bottled water. This is despite the fact that the water source for most bottled waters is mostly springs and groundwater which are vulnerable and susceptible to contamination from surface influences, and the fact that most bottled waters are simply bottled tap water.

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) report (1999) provided a detailed investigation of bottled water and cited that one-third of bottled water brands contained contaminant levels that exceeded the industry’s guidelines or state standards. Possible bacterial contamination of bottled water is another health concern. Although in many cases, bottled water receives treatment similar to tap water, a main difference is that unlike tap water, bottled water is not packaged with a residual disinfectant such as chlorine which retards bacterial growth. If storage conditions are poor (bottled water is often stored at room temperatures for extended period of times), there is potential for bacterial growth in bottled water. The results of some bacterial studies of bottled water are summarized in the NRDC report. Therefore, from a chemical and bacterial contamination perspective, contrary to consumer perception and depending on the brand, bottled water is not necessarily safer or healthier than tap water. The consumer must look for quality, reliable brands available on the market. The National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) independently tests bottled waters and certifies producers that meet FDA regulations. More information about NSF’s certification program is available under “Further reading.”

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Plastic pollution

Plastic pollution is an issue of concern for at least two reasons: possible contaminant release to water from plastic bottle, and environmental impacts of plastic bottle disposal.

Contaminant release from some type of plastic bottles is a controversial issue. The core of the controversy is the use of hard-plastic polycarbonate water bottles, specifically bottles that use the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) which its use approved by the FDA. It should be noted that not all plastic bottles use BPA and that the FDA has approved BPA use in many other consumer products, most notably food containers and infant bottles. An independent expert panel studied the BPA issue and presented a final report to the Center for Evaluation of Risks to Human Production (CERHR) in November 2007. The report from rodent studies concluded that there is sufficient evidence that BPA can cause female reproductive toxicity in both female and male rats and mice but there are insufficient data to evaluate whether BPA causes male or female reproductive toxicity in humans. However, the report notes that animal data are assumed relevant for assessment of human hazard. The report also cites that a European Union study has identified food and beverage containers as the highest potential source of human exposure to BPA.  The above report does not document BPA levels in bottled water but reports results of studies that show BPA concentration in polycarbonate infant bottles in the U.S. as <5µg/l. A Japanese study found BPA concentrations of 0.24 – 3.5 µg/l in commercial bottled water. At present, FDA does not consider low concentrations of BPA a risk to human health.

The Container Recycling Institute (CRI) developed a fact sheet on all types of containers including plastic bottle production. According to the CRI, about 86% of none-biodegradable plastic bottles (this figure includes bottles used for other beverages) in the U.S. are disposed in landfills. For good news, today some large bottled water industries encourage recycling and provide cash refund incentive for plastic water bottles. Also, some industries are using biodegradable and environmental friendly bottles which are made from corn.

I believe, plastic pollution is a human technological mistake that our advanced civilization can reverse with some time and expense based on the following observations:
 
1) Plastic pollution is not unique to bottled water, and it transcends many industries and consumer products – it is expected that current and future innovation in material science technologies will lead the market to produce biodegradable materials that will gradually replace plastic as we know it.

2) Our understanding of plastic pollution hazards will lead to more consumer and regulatory awareness that will encourage and perhaps mandate recycling, purchasing of biodegradable bottled waters, and using other non-plastic and recyclable bottles.

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Cost of bottled water

This is not perception - bottled water is expensive. It should be noted that the cost of bottled water includes water treatment, bottle production cost, packaging, shipping, retailing, marketing, transporting, and sometimes importing the water from abroad. Also, it should be noted that there are several hidden costs such as energy consumption and environmental impact of plastic production and disposal.

Recently, my research assistant Rachelle Hill, an undergraduate student at Virginia Tech, conducted a cost survey of regular bottled water in a local grocery store and obtained cost for designer bottled water from the Internet sources (table below). The cost table shown here is of course not comprehensive, but it is a good indicator of how much consumers are willing to spend on bottled water.

According to Jerry Higgins from the Blacksburg-Christiansburg Water Authority, VA whole sale tap water cost to the Town of Blacksburg is $1.41 per thousand gallons.

At the time this article was written (early January 2008), the gasoline cost in Blacksburg, VA was about $3 per gallon.

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Type of bottled water	Volume per bottle (oz.)	Price per bottle	Price per oz. (tax incl.)	Price per gallon
Generic
16.9 oz.	16.9	$1.69	$0.0172	$2.20
1 gallon	128	$0.99	$0.0079	$1.01
2.5 gallon	320	$2.69	$0.0086	$1.10
Brand name
Aquafina (1L)	33.8	$1.49	$.00452	$5.78
Evian (1.5L)	50	$2.09	$0.0428	$5.48
Deer Park (8 oz.)	8	$2.99	$0.0319	$4.09
Deer Park (2.5 gallon)	320	$3.19	$0.0102	$1.31
Acqua Panna (16.9 oz.)	16.9	$4.99	$0.0506	$6.48
Alemia Spring (gallon)	128	$1.59	$0.0127	$1.63
Spring Water (11.2 oz.)	11.2	$4.39	$0.0335	$4.29
Dasani (12 oz.)	12	$3.79	$0.0270	$3.45
Evian (1L)	33.8	$10.49	$0.0530	$6.79
Desginer water on the Internet
420 Artesian (420 ml)	14.2	$43	$0.1262	$16.15
420 Artesian (840 ml)	28	$40	$0.1190	$15.24
420 Artesian (840 ml, glass)	28	$47	$0.1399	$17.90
Bling H20 (750 ml, with crystals)	25.4	$40	$1.5748	$201.57
Gloji (11 oz.)	11	$60	$0.4545	$58.18
Glace (330 ml, glass)	11.2	$85	$0.3162	$40.48
Glace (750 ml, glass)	33.8	$80	$0.1972	$25.25
Herbal Water (16 oz.)	16	$35	$0.1823	$23.33
OGO (11.1 oz.)	11.1	$23.55	$0.1768	$22.63
Waiwera (500 ml)	16	$50	$0.1302	$16.67
Waiwera (1L)	33.8	$80	$0.1972	$25.25
Tasmanian Rain (375 ml, glass)	12	$75	$0.2604	$33.33
Tasmanian Rain (750 ml, glass)	25.4	$58	$0.1903	$24.36

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Final thought

Bottled water plays an important role in maintaining our advanced and mobile civilization. For the reasons mentioned in the opening of this article - and despite some serious concerns noted above - we will depend on bottled water for the foreseeable future. Scientific and regulatory challenges are to support developing innovative technologies and pursue implementing policies that will protect human health and global environment due to consumption of bottled water. These efforts, hopefully, will also result in keeping the cost of bottled water affordable, particularly in areas where its consumption is a necessity. In the future and where applicable, bottled water may become a component of the decentralized water systems that was discussed in a previous Water Cooler segment.

I invite the reader to draw their own conclusions about the dilemma of bottled water and its appropriate place in our society.

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