Head scratching use of water
Bottled water is not a significant part of water use compared to agricultural use, but certainly has a heavy footprint in plastic bottles. I believe tap water and well water is pretty safe to drink throughout the US, so what is the appeal??
California is suffering through a record drought. Water is being rationed and its usually fertile agriculture industry is suffering.
Meanwhile, someone in Minnesota or Kentucky or Maryland may be drinking a bit of California’s precious commodity. Mother Jones reported this week that at least four major bottled water companies—Aquafina, Dasani, Crystal Geyser and Arrowhead—use water from California, either ground (spring) water or tap water. Aquafina and Dasani both bottle and sell treated tap water, while Crystal Geyser and Arrowhead use spring water.
That’s partly because the brands are based or have plants there. In addition, California is the only western state that doesn’t regulate or manage groundwater use.
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Julia Lurie reported that while the amount of water used to make bottled water pales in comparison to the 80 percent of California water used in agriculture, the idea that water is being directed away from the drought-stricken state is head-scratching.
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“Despite the fact that almost all U.S. tap water is better regulated and monitored than bottled, and despite the hefty environmental footprint of the bottled water industry, perhaps the biggest reason that bottling companies are using water in drought zones is simply because we’re still providing a demand for it: In 2012 in the U.S. alone, the industry produced about 10 billion gallons of bottled water, with sales revenues at $12 billion,” she wrote.
Hmmmm:
Didn’t SCOTUS just define corporations as people who have extraordinary rights over the average voting individual?
I use bottled water all the time. At the gym. On a hike. I take bottled water along when ever I’m likely to have no access to potable water along the way. The first step is to get an empty bottle that is clean and easy to drink from. Then go to the tap within your house or other starting point and fill your bottle. Voila!! Bottled water. For the life of me I don’t understand why people buy bottled water.
However, I’ve spent some time over the years in southern California. Boy does their tap water taste awful. Nearly anyone I’ve stayed with didn’t have a water cooler with one of those humongous bottles sitting atop. Go know?
I use exactly the same type of bottled water that you use, Jack. Part of the appeal of buying those little bottles of water, I think, is that you can put them in your refrigerator and have a cold bottle of water to take with you. Of course, you also could put ice in with your water in your very own reusable water bottle before you leave the house, or you could even keep your own filled reusable water bottle in the refrigerator.
The main appeal of it, though, I think, is that it became a status symbol back when baby boomers were into jogging and cycling and such. And since it’s an affordable status symbol for most people who care about such things–and most baby boomers did, and do–it became a staple. First things first, y’know.
Flavor, since most city water tastes hideously of chlorine. Sometimes here it even tastes of mud during fall and spring reservoir turnover. I use a filter to make it tolerable. Of course well water may have similar entertaining off flavors.
I agree with all of you. I’m going to drift off topic somewhat. after a few comments.
I’ve lived in many places — Florida tapwater is awful. When in Hawaii the most popular ‘local’ beer was shipped partially dehydrated and water added at the local bottling stage.
It is more than the plastic bottle footprint once all the other embedded energy such as shipping gets included.
Truly silly but somehow we have made tap water a hard to obtain product. Think about airports that won’t allow you to carry your own water through the safety checks and then find no easily available water for your empty bottle.
Now the slightly OT considerations. Suppose California, as it should, stops the bottled water plants. What happens to that water? If it goes into the municipal systems then the lawn waterers and car washers will sigh with a miniscule amount of relief but continue to waste the supply. If it goes to agriculture it still will get exported as virtual water in alfalfa, almonds, tomatoes, lettuce, etc.
While this a useful discussion it doesn’t come close to being more than Aesop’s Gnat and bull fable., IMHO. Should agriculture be supported to the extent it is where it isn’t sustainable is rather more important.
Re Beverly Mann’s comments: Newer fridges with thru the door icemakers also have cold water dispensers build in, typically a number of feet of coiled pipe in the refrigerator compartment. So when you select the cold water it comes out, no need for water bottles.
“Flavor, since most city water tastes hideously of chlorine.” YES!! We have to filter our drinking water at both homes where the source comes right off the granite. The local agencies, if they want State and Federal money, have to add chlorine. San Francisco had to build a plant to do that with their water which comes from the granite above Yosemite. Yes, I understand the public health issues.
“So when you select the cold water it comes out, no need for water bottles.”
And has a filter built in. Winning!!!
Please be nice to Crystal Geyser as a good friend of mine is a sales exec there. Nice guy near retirement. His boss, a Frenchman, is a good guy too.
I am a little confused.
Other than California water being used elsewhere, I see no difference between drinking bottled water and water out of the tap.
The amounts are important, not which “tap” the water comes from.
I’ve never had any issue with the water here, except during times when there was some construction or flushing going on in the system. When we first moved in and had the entire kitchen and bathrooms torn up for reconstruction, we made use of a filtered water distribution shed (don’t know what else to call it). Put in a quarter, it spits out a gallon of cold filtered water. Bring your own bottles. I’ve seen people filling up their 5 gallon cooler bottles there.
EMichael, there are two separate issues here. One is the amount of water used, the other is the disposable (and almost-always disposed of after a single use) plastic bottles that the purchased water comes in.
My comment addressed the latter but not the former. That said, I suppose that it would make sense to truck in drinking water to the drought-stricken areas from the Great Lakes states, thus saving the drought-stricken areas’ water for other uses.
I have to say, I don’t get the complaints about the taste of chlorine-treated water. I’ve lived most of my life in Great Lakes states, with no shortage of water, but their water-treatment plants do use chlorine. The water nonetheless does not taste of chlorine.
Bev,
On the bottles I agree.
I live in Phoenix. You cannot drink the water unless you retreat it yourself. And chlorine is the least of the problems.
Well, we should have a post on “can you drink your tap water?” with reasonable taste or lack of taste. We have artesian wells in the Boston area and other ground water. Arsenic can be a problem with wells in the NE region. A lot of people use the Quabbin reservoir in the Metro system which is pretty good.
http://livingwithwaterscarcity.com/LwWS_Free_Final.pdf Economics of water is worth a look
All water has a specific taste respective to the source. Some people have more discerning taste buds and selectively. notice differences that most do not. Mineral content both in type and concentration affects taste. Chlorine amount added varies from plant to plant for many reasons — then there are reasons after plant that can affect retention.
Most find pure distilled water distasteful since the trace minerals have been removed. Water does absorb CO2 and that acidic taste is most noticeable when it is not covered by the minerals.
well, this is weird…i was going to explain why i buy bottled water, and i just realized i dont even drink water… for the most part all i drink is coffee…
on the water; i buy gallons because my aquifer is a conglomerate sandstone which has an extremely high iron content….it’s drinkable, but it has a strong irony taste and if you let a glass sit out for more than a few minutes, it turns rusty orange…so in the summer, i buy the gallon bottles in boxes, and in the winter, i distill my tap water and store enough water in those same bottles for spring…my countertop distiller will make 4 gallons a day and it keeps the kitchen warm as well… & doomer that i am, i try to keep two months supply on hand at all times…
I use the refill the bottle from the tap technique, Mrs. R runs hers through a Britta filter, all healthy she is.
We keep two cases of bottled water in the basement for emergencies, every six months we replace the oldest case and drink it up, recycling the bottles of course.
Shipping water from CA to the midwest is incredibly dumb of course.
Is this a Typepad site? Is it my imagination or is Typepad acting weird?
Should have mentioned, Toledo is now the bottled water capital of the world. I don;t think my mother will ever drink tap water again.
I’m planning on installing a reverse Osmosis filter for my entire house, then I will have pure water all the time without needing any bottled water