Water is something everyone consumes. I’ve always had people yelling at me if I ever use tap water to use bottled water instead and that tap water is unhealthy for you. On the contrary, sometimes people yell at me for using water bottles which are damaging to the environment, when you have equally accessible tap water. With inventions such as the Brita water filter, this has led me to wonder what is the deal with tap water. Is tap water bad for you? Or is it safe to drink? Why do some people claim it’s safe to drink in some locations yet in other places tap water isn’t safe to drink at all?
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates bottled water, while the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates tap water. Their standards of safety vary which accounts for how “safe” both bottled and tap water are (Mayo Clinic 2015). The EPA mandates annual reports regarding quality to customers. The customers then give feedback towards the water’s quality. This system however, isn’t the best method considering their could be general ignorance among the customers in terms of where their water source is coming from and health effects are cloudy regarding whether or not any illnesses are as a result of consuming the tap water (Environmental Protection Agency 2015). The FDA, which deals with plastic water bottles, has the power of making sure that water bottles are produced and transported under “sanitary” conditions, protected from chemicals and bacteria, and to test the final product for contaminants (Food and Drug Administration 2015). It seems that both the FDA and the EPA have similar standards for quality control, making tap and bottled water seem equal in terms of safety.
Tap water can be contaminated by containing microorganisms such as parasites and bacteria which can get in the water from animal fecal matter. Nitrates used in fertilizers sometimes can enter tap water from land runoff. Improper disposal leads to unwanted minerals such as mercury. The EPA strongly advises that people who are more vulnerable towards potential harmful minerals such as pregnant women, people with HIV/AIDS, and people undergoing chemotherapy, considering the EPA has minimal health regulations (WebMD 2015). This concerns me considering even the agency that deals with regulating tap water admits tap water isn’t the safest option for everyone and advises bottled water instead.
In 2005, the Environmental Working Group tested tap water in 42 states and found about 260 contaminants. Of the 260 contaminants, 141 were unregulated, meaning the public health officials had no safety measures against them, or the ability to simply remove them. Despite these alarming facts, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) states: “In the short term, if you are an adult with no special health conditions, and you are not pregnant, then you can drink most cities’ tap water without having to worry” (About News 2015). This is since most contaminants are in such small amounts that an overwhelming amount of tap water would have to be consumed for potential health problems. Likewise, bottled water isn’t as safe as it seems. The FDA allows some contamination of E. Coli in bottled water while the EPA would never allow such amounts in tap water. The NRDC also finds that bottled water has no requirements for bottled water to be tested for parasites unlike EPA regulations where tap water must always be tested for such things (About News 2015). My only issue with these government organizations claiming tap water is healthy is the fact that these government funded agencies have a bias towards a government run system such as tap water. Therefore, it’s harder to understand whether or not tap water is truly equally as safe as consuming bottled water.
Ultimately, it is important to assure safety among both tap and bottled water for all users. Whether or not tap water is safe to drink and healthy for you depends on location, and the consumer’s health. In terms of comparing tap water with bottled water it seems as though tap water is equally as healthy as bottled water when conditions such as the safety of that location is resolved.
Works Cited:
Drinking Water Quality: What You Need to Know (2015). In WebMD. Retrieved from http://
www.webmd.com/women/home-health-and-safety-9/safe-drinking-water?page=2
FDA Regulates the Safety of Bottled Water Beverages Including Flavored Water and Nutrient-Added Water Beverages (2015). In Food and Drug Administration. Retrived from
http://www.fda.gov/food/foodborneillnesscontaminants/buystoreservesafefood/
ucm046894.htm
Ground Water and Drinking Water (2015 ). In United States Environmental Protection Agency . Retrieved from http://water.epa.gov/drink/
How Safe is Tap Water? (2015 ). In About News . Retrieved from http://environment.about.com/od/healthenvironment/a/tap_water_safe.htm
Zeratsky, K. (2015, January 8). Is tap water as safe as bottled water?. In Mayo Clinic . Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/tap-vs-bottled-water/faq-20058017
I found this article really interesting considering the water we see here everyday in State College is far from clear when you pour it into a glass. You can almost see the bacteria it seems like in that foggy water. I tend to normally use Brita and bottled water from time to time but I never realized how bad bottled water could be. I wouldn’t have thought that there was no regulation for continuous testing standards like they do with the tap water and how bad plastic bottles can be for not only the environment but your own health too.
plastic bottles
Growing up, tap water is what was always consumed in my household. We kept bottled waters in the house, but that was only for times when you were running late and didn’t have time to fill up a reusable water bottle. I never really questioned the sanity of tap water because it was a stable for me. Here in Pennsylvania, we don’t really have any majorly polluted rivers as compared to other states and countries, which is a big reason I think our water quality is fine to drink from a tap. Pennsylvania also has one of the biggest populations of people receiving fluoridated water, according to the CDC. I find it interesting that two different agencies monitor tap and bottled water. To eliminate a bias, I think it would be a good idea to merge the two into one or have one take over and monitor the whole supply. They should also have the same regulations to follow, in my opinion.
A fun fact I found while searching this topic a bit on my own is that ‘Pennsylvania American Water’ scores greater than 99% in drinking water compliance and on their website you can find a water quality report for any zip code in the Commonwealth!
Both types of water sources can be scary because we are generally ignorant about where the water we are drinking actually comes from. One way to decide which water source to use could be the fact that US landfills contain 2 million tons of water bottles. Of course, finding out where your tap water comes from is definitely something of importance, but if you are concerned about tap water contamination, there are always Brita Filters to ease your worry. If water bottles were used less, the earth would be a much cleaner place, and for me, that is enough to make me an advocate for tap water.
Throughout my entire life my parents have always told me there is no difference between tap water and bottled water, but I always preferred to drink bottled water because I felt like it was cleaner. I found the study done on tap water being contaminated very interesting. I wonder if there was a significant amount of contaminated water in certain states as opposed to all 42 of them? Possibly a third variable present such as the location of the state or the contamination of a single area that effect a lot of water? A study testing the effectiveness of water filters/purifiers would be really interesting to investigate as well.
In addition to that, certain water from taps and showers are much harder than other waters, causing hair and skin to be effected negatively by it. The article in the link below explains the difference between hard water and soft water and how you can avoid that problem.
http://extoxnet.orst.edu/faqs/safedrink/hard.htm
I learned a lot from your blog here and I wasn’t happy to learn that a lot of tap water is contaminated. I like that you pointed out the bias of the government towards tap water. I normally drink bottle water or water that has gone through a filter. Do you think cities make it public if their tap water is not safe for pregnant women? Also, I know cities like New York source their tap water from up-state reservoirs. I wonder if there are any studies that look into exactly where the contamination comes from or why they don’t do anything about it if they know where it is coming from.
Additionally, if the water is “contaminated” it is likely classified as “hard water” and in some cases hard water actually can contain minerals, which are also contaminates, that are good for you. Here’s a link to an article that briefly looks into it.
http://www.sheknows.com/home-and-gardening/articles/809742/hard-water-facts-and-solutions
I personally choose to drink from bottled water instead of tap just because i feel like bottled water tastes more pure. Although my dentists have recommended drinking tap water occasionally due to the fluoride contained in it, I’ve read about some controversy behind that. This article explains the controversy behind that as well as what fluoridation is. Even though fluoride is being added to the water to prevent tooth decay which is beneficial, the amount that is being added can be harmful to some people. Also, it was more effective when fluoride wasn’t easily accessible like it is now. Fluoride is now in all toothpastes and mouthwashes. I see where both tap water and bottled water have their pros and cons but I’m going to have to side with bottled water if it means it doesn’t harm as many people as tap water could.