The tap water / bottled water controversy
The obvious advantage of tap water over bottled water is that tap water is significantly cheaper, if not free. Also, tap water may be fluoridated in your area, but bottled water generally isn’t. Tap water is tested frequently by city municipal districts, and held to strict federal and state standards for purity. Though rigorously tested for safety, there are places where the tap water is still not appealing due to an off taste, appearance or even smell. You may want to consider buying a water filter for your faucet. Also many grocery stores have machines that dispense filtered tap water for a minimal cost per gallon. Well, if tap water is thoroughly tested, then bottled water must be held to a higher standard, or is it? A recent report by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) on a four year long study of 103 brands of bottled water, calls this assumption into question. Bottled water is not subject to all of the tests for bacterial purity as is tap water. (Many companies do the extra testing voluntarily). This survey of national and regionally available bottled water, pointed out that some bottled water brands were not necessarily purer than tap water. Also, some bottled water labels are misleading regarding the source of the water. (Labels showing mountains, springs and so on are common). However, NSF International, an independent organization that inspects more than 500 water-bottling plants and tests bottled water worldwide, has refuted this study. NSF believes that the NRDC report confirms bottled water safety. They point out that the contaminants in the study found were at the level of parts per billion, and that a part per billion is equivalent to a drop of vodka in an Olympic-size swimming pool. So, when you decide whether your eight glasses a day will come from the tap or the store, realize that with all things considered, bottled water is not necessarily safer than tap water. There are advantages and disadvantages with either choice, but regardless of your choice, drink-up!(published with permission in writing from:http://www.blackwomenshealth.com/)
