REPORT21

==Bottled vs. Tap water ==

The question is, what should I drink? Bottled? Tap? Is there a difference between these two types of water? Most people would immediately go for bottled water because is contained and nothing dirty can get into it whereas tap water is out in the open where all different types of things and get into it. They would be wrong. Where does the water come from that is now in your bottle? This is a question that most people do not even think about, they just, out of habit, choose bottled over tap. In these next few paragraphs I will explain why this belief that bottled water is untainted and pure, is not entirely true. Bottled water companies make clear to consumers the danger of drinking tap water by telling people that their water is more pure and safer when really this is untrue. “Take Back the Tap” campaign is encouraging consumers to start using tap water and to give up the bottled water and slowly but surely, they are succeeding. Recently, more and more people have been ditching bottled water and drinking from the tap. This is a good thing because, surprisingly, tap water actually has stricter standards for testing than bottled water does. Some bottled water brands simply poor untested tap water and call it bottled water because technically, that’s what it is. Tap water is your best bet on many levels. First of all you will be choosing the environmentally sound way to drink water and not waste plastic. You will also be saving money because bottled water cost up to 10,000 more per a gallon than tap water does. These are the reasons that you should be drinking tap water. However, if you are not satisfied with the way your tap water tastes, you can use a water filter, which is highly effective. Why buy bottled water when you can get tap water for free? Here is what some mineral water experts say on this topic: “It’s not that bottled water is going to kill you. But there is no reason to believe that it is better than tap water.” So it isn’t that bottled water is particularly bad for you, but as the question above asks, why buy bottled water when you can get tap water for free? Water bottlers actually say that they do not claim their products are safer than tap water. Here is another fact; it takes three liters of water to produce one liter of bottled water. This is another reason to start drinking from the tap. Also, 40% of water sold in the USA is plain tap water. Some of our favorite bottled water brands may be fooling us and filling their bottles with plain tap water. There is no assurance that just because water comes from a bottle that it is any safer. Mostly, bottle water is safe enough. Some brands, however, could potentially hurt people with weak immune systems over time. Namely, elderly people. 22% of the testing confirmed that there was at least one chemical in this water that could cause cancer over time. The plastic bottles of bottled water have recently been studied and these studies have shown that a chemical called phthalates, giving off hormones, is in most bottled water. There are systems that control the amount of phthalates in tap water but this is not measured in bottled water/ Chances are that there are many phthalates in bottled water. “spring water”, may seem natural but it could also be treated with chemicals. Calling it spring water tricks consumers and makes them believe that because it’s called spring water, it is all-natural. Though bottled water industry denies that bottled water can cause of ever has caused any type of disease, they are incorrect. There are many examples that prove that bottled water has caused disease before. In 1996, the Center for Disease Control recorded a breakout of cholera that was related to the drinking of bottled water. AT least 11 people got sick from the water and 4 people had to be hospitalized. The brand of water that caused this outbreak cannot be named but we do know that the company involved with this outbreak get their water from municipal water. Another and more drastic example of bottled water causing diseases is in Portugal in the 1970s. Another cholera break out was recorded due to bottled water taken from a contaminated source. 2,467 people were hospitalized and at least 48 people are shown to have died. 82 patients had a history of drinking water from this contaminated source. So as you see can see, there are many reasons to drink from the tap. Tap water is often more thoroughly tested than bottled water and you can easily filter tap water instead of assume that you bottled water is perfectly safe.