Drinking water regulations are designed to protect the public health. In the United States, the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is tasked with developing and maintaining drinking
water regulations for the 276,607,387 people served by the country's 54,293 community water
systems. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates bottled water as a food product. By
federal law, the FDA's regulations for bottled water must be at least as protective of public
health as the EPA's regulations for public water system drinking water. Despite many similarities
in EPA and FDA regulations, consumer perception regarding the safety of drinking waters varies
widely. This paper examines and compares the microbial health risks of tap water and bottled
water, specifically examining differences in quality monitoring, regulatory standards violations,
advisories, and distribution system conditions. It also includes comparison data on the number
of waterborne illness outbreaks caused by both tap and bottled water.
Based on a review of existing research, it is clear that as a consequence of the differences in
regulations, distribution systems, operating (manufacturing) practices, and microbial standards
of quality, public drinking water supplies present a substantially higher human risk than do
bottled waters for illness due to waterborne organisms.
The Bizarre Insanity of Banning Bottled Water
You may have seen the news on Facebook or heard the stories on NPR: Concord, Massachusetts, has banned bottled water, and certain "liberal" colleges in Vermont have banned it, too. Al Gore spent a lot of his media attention after the huge success of Inconvenient Truth blaming bottled water...http://bottledwatermatters.org/article/bizarre-insanity-banning-bottled-water
COLLEGE BAN FACTS
By federal law, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations governing the safety and quality of bottled water must be as stringent as the EPA regulations which govern tap water. To suggest in any way that bottled water is less stringently regulated than tap water is unfounded and untrue.
Bottled water companies produce a safe, healthy, and convenient packaged food product that is comprehensively and stringently regulated by the FDA under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), 21 U.S.C. §§ 301 et seq., and applicable sections of Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).
Bottled water must meet the FDA's general food regulations, as well as standards of identity, standards of quality, good manufacturing practices and labeling requirements specifically promulgated for bottled water. The FDA has issued comprehensive bottled water Standards of Identity, which provide uniform requirements and definitions for the following bottled water classifications: bottled, drinking, artesian, groundwater, distilled, deionized, reverse osmosis, mineral, purified, sparkling, spring, sterile, and well water [21 C.F.R. § 165.110 (a)].
Bottled water isn't as well regulated as tap water.
Most of us understand that staying hydrated is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. But what does water really do for our bodies? Water is essential for human life - we can survive only a few days without it.
The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) is proud to be a sponsor of Protect Your Groundwater Day, September 10. Protect Your Groundwater Day is a time to educate all Americans about what they can do to preserve and protect groundwater to meet human and environmental needs.
Americans now officially drink more bottled water than soda. It's a shift that decades ago might have seemed unthinkable-that consumers would buy a packaged version of something they could get free from a tap. But bottled-water sales have been growing in the U.S. ever since the arrival of Perrier in the 1970s. The gains accelerated in recent years amid concerns about the health effects of sugary drinks and the safety of public-water supplies.
As a kid, your parents are always telling you to drink more of it. In your 20s you down one between cocktails to stave off a hangover. As you get older you notice dry skin, under-eye circles and headaches creeping up when you don't get enough of it. Gym rats carry around huge jugs of it, models swear by it as an essential piece of their beauty routine and a lack of it may just be the reason behind your daily afternoon slump.
We're talking water - arguably the most essential component of our diets.
Metro will allow water on its buses and trains and in stations this weekend as Washington copes with record-breaking heat. Bottled Water Matters is the official voice of the bottled water companies, formed by the IBWA. Give bottled water consumers a voice to share their ideas about bottled water facts, types of bottled water, mineral water brands, bottled water, water bottle labels