Water: Bottled vs. Tap

This week's focus is on water, our most valuable resource. We were asked to take a closer look at bottled water and drinking (tap) water and compare and contrast them. Where does my tap water come from? What does the annual water quality report say? What are the concerns about bottled water? Who sets the regulations for both? These are some of the questions that I hope to answer with a little bit of research.

Drinking water:

Unlike bottled water, drinking water is governed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA established National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (NPDWRs) which set mandatory standards for water quality. These standards, known as maximum contaminant levels, are designed to prevent the public from consuming water that has contaminants that present a risk to human health. Contaminants include microorganisms such as Coliforms or Giardia, water disinfectants, disinfection byproducts, inorganic chemicals, organic chemicals, and radioactive particles like uranium. There are 100's of contaminants that are being tested within these categories. In addition, NPDWRs set non-mandatory standards, guildines, for an additional 15 contaminants, but the EPA does not enforce these.

Bottled water:

Because it is treated as a food, The United States Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is the agency that regulates bottled water. FDA requires that regulations for bottled water as it concerns public safety be as ironclad and as protective as EPA regulations for drinking water. According to the FDA, there are different classifications of bottle water, each has a different definition and requirements (standards of identity) that must be met. The classifications include: drinking, artesian, groundwater, distilled, deionized, reverse osmosis, mineral, purified, sparkling, spring, and well water. Standards of identity are mandatory and determine marketability. In addition to these laws, the FDA has established Standards of Quality for more than 90 physical and chemical substances. Maximum contaminant levels are typically the same as EPA regulations. The FDA also mandates that bottling be done under sanitary conditions and monitors any potential additives to the water, therefore regulations are stricter.

Drawbacks to bottled water:

• Bottled water costs ≈ $1.22 per gallon compared to 1/10 of a cent for tap water. 
• Bottling water has produced more that 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide.
• 1.5 million tons of plastic is used annually to make bottles. Less than 5% of that is recycled.
• 60 million bottles make their way into our landfills every day.
• Common plasticizers, phthalates leech from plastic bottles contaminating the water.

Where does MY water come from?
I live in Menifee, so my water comes from the Eastern Valley Municipal Water District.

2015 EMWD Water Quality Report
After reading the 2015 water quality report for the Eastern Municipal Water District, I learned a few a facts:
- 3046 coliform samples were ran. Only 1 was positive
- Copper and Lead were sampled 50 times. No sample exceed action levels.
-All contaminants were under max levels
- Overall quality was excellent
-Water quality reports are hard to read!

Do you know how clean your water is?