Why Is Bottled Water Healthier Than Tap Water

We have always been told that we need to drink eight glasses of water a day, but we are not advised what is the best water to drink. Many people think that bottled water is safer and better than tap water, but that is not the case. Bottled water is not regulated like tap water is. Also, the plastic bottle contains harmful chemicals that can leach into the water and cause cancer and other health issues. You can remove the negative impacts of drinking bottle water from your life simply by not drinking bottle water. For added protection, you can buy a filtration system for your tap water at home. When on the go carry your water in a stainless steel water bottle.

Bottled water has become a controversial topic as of late. There are always two sides to every argument, some think that bottled water is beneficial to society, whereas some people think that it is detrimental to society as a whole. Bottled water is detrimental to society because it costs the country an abundance of money. It is also harmful to society because it is damaging to the environment. A lack of sanitation in bottled water has also been connected to illnesses among people who drink it. Bottled water is in no way shape or form worth the price that one will spend financially, nor is it worth the gamble of becoming sick from all the harsh chemicals that come from the bottle itself.

Plastic is believed to constitute 90 per cent of all rubbish floating in the oceans. Bottled water does have its place. It’s useful for emergencies and essential for people whose health can’t tolerate even filtered water. But it’s often no better than tap water, its environmental and social price is high, and it lets our public guardians off the hook for protecting watersheds, stopping polluters, upgrading treatment and distribution infrastructure, and strengthening treatment standards.

Seventy percent of the human body is comprised of water. This makes drinking water quality vital. The EPA estimates the average adult consumes 1.2 liters daily or 115 gallons of community (tap) water daily while the average consumption of bottled water per capita in the U.S. is in excess of 30.8 gallons per year and is expected to continue to increase according to the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) and the Beverage Marketing Association’s 2013 report. Bottled water costs anywhere from 240 to 10,000 times more per gallon than the average cost of tap, but people’s perception that bottled water is purer, safer or healthier is driven, in part, by strong bottled water marketing campaigns that focus on news reports about crises that involve municipal water supplies. (NRDC, “Bottled Water Pure Drink or Pure Hype”) The sources for both tap and bottled waters as well as additives to either enrich or neutralize contents of water determine the mineral and chemical composition of drinking water. Is bottled water really any purer or healthier than local tap water?

Another way bottled water is the way to go is because it helps aid in healthy choices. In the article, “Grab the Bottle”, it states that “bottled water has helped consumers choose to drink more water because it presents it in a convenient way (Giroux). In many cases, consumers buy more objects that appeal to the eyes. Bottled water comes in different sizes and shapes. What is trending in society, the public wants automatically. In the article, “Comment-Soft Drinks and Water- The Future of Bottled Water”, he told that “attractive packages alone can make us feel that what we are drinking is beneficial” (Rowlands). Trendy shapes, sizes, and colors are what the public is drawn to. If a consumer sees a unique water bottle in the store, he or she will buy that because it’s trendy and popular in society.

I have always found it sort of curious when I see people buying bottled water. My grandfather told me that when he was a boy they drank water from the hose and it was free. I know growing up our household certainly didn’t bother with things like that, so facet water is what we got as well. The costs of groceries these days is expensive, spending extra money on water always seemed like such a waste to me. Now, that being said, some people live in areas where the water isn’t very clean, and buying bottled water is much safer than drinking the city’s water. Also, bottled water has become more popular because it is paired as a service; Bottled water is easy to grab on the go. It takes more time to find a water bottle, with a lid, and fill it up than to grab an already bottled water.

In a qualitative study performed in the United Kingdom, “the majority of participants associated bottled water with having fewer impurities than tap water, and were more likely to trust the quality of bottled water than tap water” (Ward). Individuals with well water should also be attentive to the purity of their water supply, as it is not even held to regulation standard. Looking at the facts though, bottled water is regulated by Food and Drug Administration in equivalence to the Environmental Protection Agency who holds the public officials accountable for the standards of tap water (Hogan & Larsen). This is not to say, though, that there is not human error on both sides that can cause room for contamination of a drinking supply and jeopardize the safety of the

Tap water is healthier for you and the environment. People always say the bottled water has a better taste and better value than just regular tap water. Why do others say that tap water is bad for you because off all the germs and bacteria that can get inside of your tap water faucets. I believe that people are wrong about bottle water.

The controversy of bottled water verse tap water can be argued on both sides. However, tap water is the better alternative in the long run. Some may say there is a distinct taste difference between the two, yet most can't tell. In a college classroom, a group of students completed an experiment where they tasted a variety of waters: Great Value, Zephyrhills, and tap water. Most students guessed incorrectly, not tasting a difference (Combass). Although people have concerns with tap water, it is the most convenient. Not only is tap water cheaper, it is the safest source that positively impacts our environment.

As aforementioned, there are explanations to believe that bottled water does outweigh its repercussions. Thomas J. Lauria, author of “In Defense of Bottled Water”, states, “Bottled water provides a healthy choice when tap water is not accessible” (“In Defense of Bottled Water”). In this article, Lauria states that bottled water is a topic of great interest. He goes on to discuss that in the United States, “Adults consume 450 calories a day from beverages and sixty-eight percent of those twenty years old and older are classified as overweight or obese, bottled water provides a healthy choice when tap water is not accessible, preferred, or convenient” (“In Defense of Bottled Water”). Sure, this is fact and definitely a benefit to bottled water. Lauria continues to say that if bottled water is not offered then people will be more likely to choose soda, juices, or options similar to those. He says that banning bottled water will urge people to consume unhealthy beverages because

Transporting the bottles and holding them gelid also burns fossil fuels, which give off greenhouse gases. Bottled water society cheap exalted emolument by traction water from public water sources, putting it in moldable containers, and reselling it at 2,900 set the price of symmetrical tap.

Currently there are 475 bottled water plants in the United States produce over 600 types of water. The students in the Enc1101 class did an experiment where they taste tested three different types of water and tried to guess which one was which. The students then recorded what they thought about each one such as taste and smell. A majority of the class guessed wrong, at least twice, but this experiment was successful because it gave the students a first hand experience taste testing the water.

Tap water and bottled water are used in peoples lives daily. Yet, barely anybody seems to care for the difference between the two. The quality, price, accessibility and many other aspects areover looked in the decision for tap or bottled water. Another topic that seems to be shoved under the rug is the safety of tap water in the United States. But from investigative information it proves that there is no problem with drinking tap water in the United States.

Tap water and bottled water have been at debate for a long time now. Many people think one is better the the other. Tap water is better than bottled water. This is because most bottled water even though they say they are helping the environment they are doing more harm to the ecosystem. Also, even if they are bad things in some tap water there are hundreds of tap filters to make it better. About 40 percent of bottled waters is just repackaged tap water. For these reasons we have to get rid of bottled water and drink more tap water.

Have you ever had any concerns about bottled water? Do you think that bottled water consumption should be banned? Bottled water is water packed in plastic containers and sold for human consumption (Health Canada, 2013). Currently, the amount of bottled water consumed has increased considerably since many people feel it is safer drinking bottled water than tap water (Parent and Wrong, 2014). According to The Statistics Portal, the global sale of bottled water took a leap from 161, 589 to 181, 608 liters from 2009 to 2011. Only in the United States, each American citizen consumed around 32 gallons of bottled water in 2013, thus meaning an equivalent growth of 15, 94% over 2009 (The Statistics Portal, 2014). In fact, due to good portability, bottled water has been helpful in both simple and complex situations such as daily exercises and natural disasters. Even though having those few considerable advantages, bottled water still have been less beneficial; especially due to the negative impacts in the socio-economic, health and environmental fields.