There’s been a trend over the last decade or so that is seeing people purchase more bottled water each and every year.  Its interesting really, because most people fail to actually read the lables in order to understand just where that water is coming from.   Some bottling companies, such as Nestle, are depleting groundwater sources in order to fill those bottles.  Other companies, such as Pepsi, under the guise of Aqua Fina are simply opening up the tap and filling plastic bottles with the same water that flows freely from your own tap.  So I guess the question really is whats better……your tap, or the bottles that sell at about twice the price of gasoline.

The rules that govern bottled water are virtually non existent.  For example, municipal drinking water supplies are required by law to ensure that there is no trace of E-Coli bacteria found in water.  There is no such law to protect bottled water from contamination.  And infact, there are definite possibilities that your bottled water could be tainted with some sort of coliform bacteria.

Municipal water supplies are treated and filtered before they are delivered to you via your tap.  There are no such regulations for bottled water companies.   In addition, municipal water supplies must test for various toxins and chemicals that may cause cancer or other diseases……..yup, you guessed it!  Bottling companies are not required to test for any toxins at all.  And that would be additional cost as well, so why would they?????  Its only public health in question – isn’t it??

Some Interesting Bottled Water Facts

• Bottled water results in nearly 1.5 million tons of garbage each year
• The plastic used to make water bottles uses 47 million gallons of oil each year
• Purchasing bottled water results in the corporatization and commodification of a resource as important as air
• Bottled water is usually shipped hundreds or thousands of miles from its bottling source resulting in air pollution
• The average person drinks about 15 litres of bottled water per year

Here’s an astonishing figure from the Nestle company’s bottling operations near Guelph, Ontario, Canada:

“The province levies a one-time $3,000 processing fee on complicated water permits that need a scientific evaluation. Beginning next year, it will charge an additional fee of $3.71 for every million litres permit holders withdraw, or $13.36 a day if Nestlé takes its full allotment.”

Sooooooo………….Nestle is paying $3.71 dollars, that three hundred and seventy-one cents for every one million litres of water it draws from its source………and you are paying nearly $2.00 per bottle!!