Water Facts: Bottled or Tap?

Bottled water has become the fastest growing commercial beverage sold in the
United States. In 2005, Americans spent nearly $10 billion on bottled water. And
now we are seeing ads for bottled water containing several added (and unneeded)
vitamins.

This got me thinking about the origin of the oft-cited notion that we need to
drink at least eight glasses of water — presumably in eight-ounce glasses —
a day. I can understand taking a bottle of water along on a long hike or 20-mile
bicycle ride. But it's hard for me to keep a straight face when I see grown
adults sucking on bottles of water in the course of ordinary activities.

Do all these water-bottle-toting folks know something we don't about the
benefits of guzzling large amounts of H2O? Or is this another trendy accessory
to help us feel better about ourselves, not founded on medical fact?

Several years ago, a report from the Institute of Medicine set the record
straight about how much water we should be drinking. It didn't state the number
of glasses of water we should drink; rather, it recommended a total daily intake
of about 91 ounces of water for women and a total of 125 ounces of water for
men.

About 80 percent of this total water can come from beverages like milk, fruit
juices, coffee, tea, and beer, not just from drinking water. The remaining 20
percent can come from soups and the water contained in fruits and
vegetables.

Should we be counting water consumption like calories? No. According to the
IOM report, thirst is an adequate guide for almost all healthy people for
meeting their daily needs. The report set no upper limit on fluid intake, but
noted that excessive amounts can be dangerous.

Aggressive advertising by the bottled water industry, urging us to drink more
water to ensure good health, may help to maintain the "eight glasses of water a
day" myth. Surely these ads partly explain why so many otherwise-sensible people
find it necessary to carry a bottle of water while attending business meetings
or walking down the street.

OK, perhaps they're thinking that bottled water is better than tap water. But
is it really? The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) created the
policies regulating the industry and claims that bottled water is subject to
more aggressive quality standards than tap water. The IBWA, however, isn't quite
an unbiased source of safety information for the industry.

To date, no independent investigation has shown that bottled water passes
more safety and health checks than tap water. In fact, the National Resources
Defense Council (NRDC) tested 103 brands of bottled water and concluded there
was no assurance that water out of a bottle is cleaner or safer than water from
the tap. Another of their conclusions didn't surprise me either: They estimated
that 25 percent or more of bottled water is nothing more than tap water.

Given the lack of objective research or evidence to favor bottled water over
tap water, the decision on which to drink comes down to an individual choice.
However, two things we know for certain: bottled water is more convenient and
more expensive than tap water.

The NRDC reported that a five-year supply of bottled water cost over $1,000
compared with $1.65 for the same amount of tap water. Not to mention the
environmental impact of the many discarded plastic water bottles that are not
recycled.

If you feel the convenience is worth the cost, by all means choose bottled
water; but don't feel compelled to drink a lot of it to maintain good health.