…Gulp…

It’s hot. Very, very hot. But before you unscrew that plastic top and take a thirst-quenching gulp of bottled water, there are some things you might want to consider.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates tap water, while the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates bottled water. The FDA’s rules for bottled water are less stringent than EPA rules for tap water, requiring less frequent testing and not banning certain carcinogens, endocrine disruptors or fecal coliforms. A Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) study found that about 25 percent of bottled water is actually reprocessed municipal or tap water. The Pepsi-Cola Company bottles Aquafina, and the Coca-Cola Company bottles Dasani (adding salt to make it “taste better”): both are reprocessed from municipal water systems.

Don’t swallow yet. NRDC’s four-year study of more than 1,000 bottles of 103 brands of bottled water found that one-third had levels of chemical or bacterial contaminants that exceeded state or industry standards. The study also found that 20 percent of the tested bottled waters contained neurotoxins and carcinogens, while one-third contained traces of arsenic and E. coli.

Still thirsty? Consider bottled water’s hefty carbon footprint that takes a heavy toll on the planet’s health. Every plastic bottle of water is about one-quarter full of petroleum, according to the Pacific Institute (pacinst.org). First the bottles are made with polyethylene terephthalate, a plastic derived from crude oil. The energy required to manufacture those bottles consumes approximately 17 million barrels of oil. More energy is consumed at the factory to fill the bottles, transport them, cool them at the point of sale and in home refrigerators, and recover, recycle or trash the empties. Only about 10 percent of plastic water bottles are recycled. The other 90 percent, about 12.6 billion bottles, find their final resting place along roadsides, in our oceans or in landfills where they will take thousands of years to decompose.

Americans lead the world in consumption of bottled water, sipping about four billion gallons of water each year from small plastic bottles.

Earth Policy Institute researcher Emily Arnold summarizes the problems associated with drinking bottled water this way: ‘’Even in areas where tap water is safe to drink, demand for bottled water is increasing, producing unnecessary garbage and consuming vast quantities of energy.” NRDC notes that sales of bottled water have tripled in the past 10 years, due to “marketing designed to convince the public of bottled water’s purity and safety, marketing so successful that people spend from 240 to over 10,000 times more per gallon for bottled water than they typically do for tap water.”

Okay, you agree—tap water it is. But you’re almost dehydrated, and there’s no tap in sight. Simple solution—from now on you’ll carry a refillable water bottle. You’ll save money: drinking the recommended eight glasses a day from the tap costs about 49 cents compared with $1,400 annually you would spend for bottled water.

But wait.

When liquid sits in a plastic container, chemicals from the plastic can leach into it. The problem is exacerbated when the container is heated, as it would be sitting in the hot sun or a parked car. Recent news items have highlighted the potential dangers of phthalates and Bisphenol A, estrogen-like substances that can leach from plastics. These hormone disruptors can lead to early puberty, hyperactivity, low sex drive, increased fat formation, changes in reproductive cycles and structural damage to the brain. They have also been linked to cancer.

To be on the safe side, you’ve decided to drink from glass or ceramic at home. When you’re on the road or at the gym or walking in the woods, you’ll drink from your new stainless steel drink bottle.

- Marcia Nehemiah