I̲s̲ ̲m̲i̲n̲e̲r̲a̲l̲ ̲w̲a̲t̲e̲r̲ ̲b̲e̲t̲t̲e̲r̲ ̲t̲h̲a̲n̲ ̲t̲a̲p̲ ̲w̲a̲t̲e̲r̲?̲

Fiji a bottled water company angered the citizens of Cleveland, Ohio in 2006. Reason? it claimed the labels read Fiji because the water was not bottled in Cleveland its advertisements.

In response, Cleveland’s public utility director ordered tests comparing the bacterial content and fluoride levels of 57 different samples of bottled water with the city’s own water supply and found not only did the city supply blow most of the competition away, but the Fiji brand contained 6.31 microgrammes per liter of arsenic.

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That brings us to a glaring question, are bottled waters any better than tap water?

Global sales are expected to soar above fizzy soda-style drinks for the first time this year, making water the world’s best-selling soft drink.

The sales rush has come partly from Asia, where the new aspiring middle classes distrust local tap water, while demand is also surging in America and Europe, where are there few genuine concerns over water quality.

Most of us who spend money on water bottles are not worried about the environmental hazards of transferring water into plastic bottles and then sending it across the world.

Fountains that were a thing of beauty and a source of pure fresh water have been chopped off the landscape and replaced by clear plastic bottles. People have ditched natural water to pay for same water or perhaps even worse for exponentially higher amounts of money.

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“No one should think that bottled water is better regulated, better protected or safer than tap,” 

 Eric Goldstein- Harvard researcher:

Yes, some bottled water comes from sparkling springs and other pristine sources. But more than 25 percent of it comes from a municipal supply. The water is treated, purified and sold to us, often at a thousandth-fold increase in price. So, the water you are drinking might be coming from a river near a nuclear waste plant. 

Advertising and promises of water coming from pastoral lands and rich green fields can be misleading.

The taste of bottled water also varies with its mineral content and acidity — and that depends on local geography. If it comes from a deep aquifer (an underground layer of water-bearing rock) it will probably contain more minerals, such as silica, potassium, and sodium, than one from a shallow aquifer. And, for example, granite mountain water tastes different from water from chalky rocks. 

While tap water might have its side effects, you can be sure of the source it is coming but same cannot be said about bottled water. 

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Taking care of one’s health is their own responsibility and while bottles might be taking over the world, having clear and pure water from taps is still an option.