Bottled H2O - includes related information

Better Nutrition, August, 1997 by Diane M. Calabrase

There is much more than salt that consumers want to be certain is not in bottled water. Consumers do not want to find organic menaces like Cryptosporidia or Giardia. Those single-celled organisms (protozoans) cause serious cases of diarrhea. Cryptosporidia gained national notoriety in 1993 when they spread through the Milwaukee water supply.

The effects of Cryptosporidia (and Giardia) are usually not lethal in healthy people. But in the very young, very old, and ill, deaths do occur. In Milwaukee, 104 people died as a result of Cryptosporidia. (The Milwaukee tragedy was precipitated by faulty monitoring at the water-treatment facility. In addition, chlorine doesn't kill Cryptosporidia.)

Because bottled water is taken from deep-ground sources, or is processed (filtered and distilled, or subject to reverse osmosis), nasty protozoans are not part of its content.

The flamboyant nature of water-borne microorganisms that take hold in human guts garners lots of attention. But much more insidious dangers lurk in the bulk-water supply. Runoff from agricultural land and deteriorating pipes contribute much that is not good to tap water.

Water is an excellent solvent. That's good news for living organisms that depend on the watery solution in their cells. (The solution holds all that is vital to life.) It's bad news when water is coursing across areas covered by water-soluble chemicals no one would want to drink.

Nitrates from fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides all show up in the bulk-water supply. Apply a substance to agricultural land -- or the lawn, and some of it will very likely make its way into tap water. Then, too, there's waste that runs off from feedlots, a huge problem in the central part of the country.

Aged pipes contribute lead to tap water (from lead pipes and lead solder in copper pipes). Deteriorating pipes also allow bacteria to take hold in the sediments that accumulate in their cracks and crevices. Those bacteria multiply and move on to the faucet.

Nitrates are implicated as carcinogens (cancer-causing substances). So, too, are many of the other more than 120 contaminants the SDWA mandates municipalities to monitor.

Unfortunately, for those who rely on tap water, detection and elimination are separate efforts. About one in five Americans use a water system that violates federal health standards. Municipalities are trying to rectify the situation, but it takes time to replace pipes and water treatment plants.

Moreover, add these to the worries over tap water: one out of four water utilities does not conduct tests to verify the safety of its water. Ninety percent of water utilities do not use appropriate technology to remove chemical contaminants. Excessive chlorine is sometimes added in lieu of careful removal of microorganisms; the result is just excessively chlorinated tap water. Shallow wells (under 50 feet) -- because of their proximity to farmland -- are often contaminated to a greater extent than rivers and lakes. The list goes on.

But the point is obvious. Choosing bottled water makes good health sense. Installing appropriate filtering systems at or near the tap does too. Keep in mind, however, removing heavy metals and some microorganisms is beyond the capabilities of many filtering systems. For example, bacteria are too small to be filtered out of water. Water must be disinfected to eliminate them.