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Kicking the bottled water habit
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Photo - IBWA
Recently The Denver Post ran a short article about tap water versus bottled water. They looked at the costs for both. The article ended, "By the numbers: $6.36 - Cost for the 64-ounce recommended daily intake of 20-ounce bottles of Dasani water; $6.76 - Cost for the daily intake of Evian water; $0.001- Cost for the daily intake of tap water, based on the national average."
Looking just at those costs it's easy to see that tap water is a huge value over bottled water. For most of us, here in Colorado, tap water is of very high quality. Our water system is built around snowfall. The mountains themselves store our water in the winter as snow. Runoff fills the reservoirs around the state. Water providers treat the water and distribute it through their systems to homes. For many of the municipalities on the Front Range at least some of their water started out in the Colorado River Basin and is moved from the rainy side of Colorado to the dry side via transbasin diversions, like Denver Water's Moffat Tunnel.
The biggest worry for most of Colorado's population then is paying the water bill periodically throughout the year. Pay the bill and the water keeps flowing. As I said, the water quality is usually very good in this situation.
However, we recently learned from the AP, that pharmaceuticals are present in much of the raw water supplies across the nation, including Colorado. Normal treatment doesn't take care of these chemicals so they are passed on to the population via distribution systems. In all cases so far the concentrations are so low that health officials are not sounding the alarm. You can take comfort in knowing that there are research programs looking into the long-term effects of small doses of chemicals and endocrine disruptors in drinking water. Conventional wastewater treatment leaves the chemicals in place where they are released back into surface water to become a source of the pollution downstream. Aren't you glad that you live at the top of the hill?
Not so fast. Treatment adds some chemicals to the water also, primarily chlorine and also fluoride in most areas. Some systems add chemicals to 'soften' water and improve taste.
Chlorine kills bacteria that cause illness. As Alamosa learned this year -- after 400 or so people ended up with Salmonellosis -- it is very difficult to maintain a system free of bacteria without it. So chlorine is good right? Sure, that's obvious. Waterborne bacteria account for thousands of deaths a week around the world. Some recommend removing as much chlorine as possible in your household by installing water filters on your shower and faucets. Claims are made that the substance can irritate skin or contribute to certain types of cancer. That's why the state health department and EPA limit chlorine by-products like trihalomethanes in the water supply.
Many Coloradans get their domestic water from groundwater sources. In some cases, like the towns that depend on the Denver Basin Aquifer system, the water quality is excellent. Some of that water runs through distribution systems, for example, Centennial Water and Sanitation, while other wells are domestic wells serving just one house, farm or ranch. If you're getting your water from groundwater then you're probably OK then, correct?
Not so fast. Well water in a few places in Colorado contain radionuclides. The EPA and the state have established standards for radionuclides in drinking water and are moving towards greater enforcement. Again the concentrations are usually very small and little is known about the long-term effects of exposure. No one is sounding a health alarm yet. Another wrinkle in this story is what to do with the radiocative waste if you treat the water to remove the uranium and radium.
High concentrations of nitrates and other chemicals from agriculture are also found in many wells across Colorado. These wells in the alluvial aquifers along streams share the groundwater with the streams and runoff from irrigation.
Alright then, you're saying, "I'll make sure that my water comes from high mountain snowmelt and then I'll buy filters to get rid of most of what is added." That's a good plan and is possible across the state.
If you're not so lucky you may want to consider bottled water (You knew I'd get back to the subject eventually, didn't you?). There are also essential minerals in some spring water. When you're on the go picking up a quick bottle of water at the convenience store is also an option. Many drink bottled water at the office, getting it out of the pop machines, and avoiding the pop.
Bottled water is now big business. The International Bottled Water Association is saying that industry sales will top $12 billion this year. That's not just because we've been bamboozled by the industry. Convenience, taste, quality and the desire to drink spring water all contribute, as does the lack of a good supply in many areas. The industry is motivated by profit of course. Here's an example close to home: Nestle, Corp has purchased the Hagen Spring near Nathrop in the Upper Arkansas Valley. They plan to truck water from the spring to Denver for bottling and still make a profit.
However, as with most consumption theses days, Americans need to look at all the costs involved and make good decisions about personal choices. The trade off between bottled water and tap water should be considered by all. It really is very much more expensive to the consumer and the environment to drink bottled water. Sustainability Engineer, Pablo Paster, calculated the cost of one litre of Fiji water recently. His calculations show that it takes nearly seven times the amount of water to produce a litre of water than is contained in the bottle. Over at Radical Constituency they list the reasons to quit the bottled water habit: Bottled water individually wraps the most abundant substance on earth in petroleum-based, single-use packaging; Bottled water travels in trucks, not pipes; Bottled water is a ripoff (in quantities smaller than a gallon it is more expensive than gasoline, at least until the last month or so).
From The Summit Daily News: "With [a] seemingly minor move, Silverthorne has joined a growing movement of U.S. municipalities taking steps to eliminate water bottles that clog landfills, litter highway shoulders and bob in waterways for years like jellyfish. From now on, Silverthorne will discourage use of bottled water in all town departments, said town manager Kevin Batchelder. 'It's an environmental issue,' he said. 'It's an easy thing to do, and I believe it's important.'"
Here's a great resource for information on drinking water and kicking the bottled water habit, Drinking Water Resources.
Update:Bob pointed to the Fiji water website. I couldn't find a reference about the amount of water per liter to check on Mr. Paster's calculation but they do have a carbon neutral plan in place at fijigreen.com.
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