Bottled Water

 

 

 

Bottled Water: Think Twice Before You Buy   

 

Wherever you go these days, if there are humans in the vicinity, you’ll find bottled water. To say 

that bottled water is big business is to understate its growth projectory and global reach. In fact, 45 

billion gallons were purchased and consumed in 2005. The market for bottled water has expanded 57 

percent between 1999 and 2004 with a combined annual growth rate of 9.4 percent.1 

 

The United States leads the pack in total consumption, representing 17 percent of the global 

use in 2004. Mexico, China, Brazil and Italy are numbers 2, 3, 4 and 5 in the world, but the numbers 

are deceiving. For example, annual growth rates in Italy are only 3.6 percent and per capita annual 

consumption is a startling 48.5 gallons – that’s nearly 50 gallons of bottled water for each and every 

Italian citizen each year. By comparison, the U.S. per capita annual consumption is 23.9 gallons and 

China’s is 2.4 gallons per capita. But China is on the move. With a huge population to draw from and 

an exploding capitalist market, China’s annual bottled water growth rate of 20.9 percent is 2.5 times 

the growth rate in the United States.1,2 

 

The marketing appeals for bottled water – purer, safer, healthier – are fundamentally 

inaccurate. The reality is that public tap water is remarkably safe – it’s regularly tested in the U.S. for 

103 contaminants and 80 microbes and industrial agents. More than 90 percent of those tests reveal 

water that exceeds EPA and FDA standards.3  In fact, our everyday water is more tightly regulated 

and more frequently tested by far compared to the bottled variety. In New York City in 2004, the water 

was formally tested 430,000 times. As for the taste, multiple studies show no difference. Not too 

surprising since at least 25 percent of bottled water comes right from the tap.4 

 

But in one area, bottled water far surpasses our everyday water and that area is price. Ounce 

for ounce, it is more expensive than gasoline. The worldwide spending in 2005 was more than $45 

billion, with the United States contributing nearly 20 percent at $9.8 billion.1,4 To get a sense of the 

relative cost, consider an analysis of local tap water against three bottled varieties in Massachusetts. 

The public water came from the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority (MWRA) and used ozone 

for purification. It cost consumers two-tenths of a cent per gallon and was delivered to the tap. 

Interestingly, one of the three bottled varieties came from the Water Department in Ayer, 

Massachusetts, and was also purified with ozonation technology. But it cost $6.82 a gallon, more than 

3000 times the cost of regular water, and you had to carry it home from the supermarket.5 

 

Paradoxically, while you pay more, you actually get less. This is certainly the case when it 

comes to oversight. One 1999 independent analysis of 1000 bottles of water representing 103 

different brands found that one-third did not meet state or bottled water industry standards for 

bacteria or contaminants.6  How could this be?  Well, first, the FDA has jurisdiction on interstate trade 

of food, and 60 to 70 percent of bottled water is sold in the state it is produced, therefore outside of 

FDA oversight. Some states examine bottled water, but 20 percent do no testing at all. Second, 

bottled water, even though at least 25 percent originates at the tap, is examined less critically than 

 

regular water. As FDA chemist Dr. Henry Kim said in 2002, “Because the FDA experience over the 

years has shown that bottled water poses no significant public health risk, we consider bottled water 

not to be a high-risk food.”7  And third, a portion of the U.S. bottled water is not considered water. 

Again, according to the FDA, “Beverages labeled as containing ‘sparkling water’, ‘seltzer water’, ‘soda 

water’, ‘tonic water’, or ‘club soda’ are not included as bottled water under the FDA’s regulations 

because these beverages have historically been considered soft drinks.”7 

 

And what about carbonated soft drinks? Well, they are still number one, with approximately 

double the volume sales of water. But their growth is relatively flat, in part because people are 

switching to bottled water. And if you must drink one or the other, certainly water would be preferred, 

if only because carbonated beverages play a role in our obesity epidemic.8 But beyond the sheer 

waste of money in purchasing water that you could “bottle” yourself from your own tap, consider the 

environmental impact. All that packaging, including a remarkable 1.5 million tons per year of plastic, 

must find its way into U.S. landfills.4  There’s the cost of shipping, packaging, labeling. And the labels 

are embarrassing. Spring Water? According to the FDA, you can label a product “spring water” if you 

believe the underground source you’re pumping it from ultimately feeds a spring.7   

 

So, just as it became popular and trendy to go “bottled,” it needs to become un-trendy. Why?   

Well, number 1, because well informed health consumers can manage their own water and transport 

it when necessary for themselves and their children in durable reusable and even fashionable plastic 

bottles. If they use public source water, they should request the utilities “Annual Water Quality 

Report,” which will outline water source, treatment, additives and any contaminates.  If concerned, the 

water can be tested. For a list of certified water testing labs call the EPA safe drinking water hotline at 

800-426-4791 or visit www.epa.gov/safewater.  A variety of filters for tap water are available, if 

needed. For the National Sanitation Foundation’s approved filters call 800-673-8010. If you own a 

well, have it tested once a year for nitrates, coliform bacteria and contaminants, and use filters as 

necessary. 

 

And, number 2, consider this: as we wastefully overspend on bottled water, each day 6000 

people, mostly children, die of waterborne disease and 1.1 billion people lack enough clean water to 

keep them alive and well. We spend $9.8 billion per year in the United States on bottled water – an 

amount that’s almost identical to what the United Nations estimates would be necessary to ensure 

acceptable sanitation and water for those at risk in the developing world.9  Rather than paying 

someone to package this stuff for us, we need to be figuring out how to get it to those in other parts of 

the world who so desperately need it. 

 

 

For Health Politics, I’m Mike Magee. 

 

 

 

References 

 

1. Beverage Marketing Corporation Web site. “Bottled Water 2004: U.S. and International  

Developments and Statistics.” Available at: http://www.beveragemarketing.com/news3e.htm. 

2. The World Fact Book. Available at: http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ch.html. 

3. Carpenter TE. “Water Down the Drain?” Newsweek. Aug. 23, 2005. Available at: 

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9043788/site/newsweek/. 

4. Standage T. “Bad to the Last Drop.” The New York Times. Aug. 1, 2005.  

5. Mohl B. “Water Wars.” The Boston Globe. Sept. 18, 2005. 

6. Natural Resources Defense Council Web site. “Bottled Water: Pure Drink or Pure Hype.” 

Available at: www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/nbw.asp. 

7. Bullers AC. “Bottled Water: Better Than the Tap?” U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA 

Consumer magazine. July-August 2002. Available at: 

www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2002/402_h2o.html. 

8. Health Politics with Dr. Mike Magee. “Exercise and Childhood Obesity.” Available at: 

http://www.healthpolitics.com/archives.asp?previous=prog_18. 

9. Magee M. Healthy Waters. 2005. Spencer Books, New York.