Bottled Water Vs Tap Water - the Verdict is in

If you've been caught up in the controversy over bottled water vs tap water, I'm happy to tell you that the verdict is in. Unfortunately, neither side emerges as the winner. If you were hoping to make an informed decision between the two, I'm afraid you're going to have to look for other solutions to your need for clean, safe drinking water. Let me explain.

The majority of our municipal water treatment systems continue to use outdated disinfection processes based upon chlorination. This process is inadequate when it comes to removing the extensive list of chemicals that wind up in our water supplies each year.

For example, the National Academy of Sciences points out that, "residues of 39 pesticides and their degradation products have been detected in the groundwater of 34 states."

The National Resources Defense Council recently acknowledged this problem by stating, "Drinking water plants are old and out of date, and water supplies are increasingly threatened and contaminated by chemicals and micro-organisms."

These contaminants cannot be removed by chlorination. They can only be removed by effective filtration technology. Updating our water treatment plants with this technology is an expense that most municipalities do not want to incur.

The issue of tap versus bottled water puts the spotlight on other problems. Medical experts have linked exposure to chlorine in tap water with an increase in cancer. The U.S. Council on Environmental Quality has expressed it concern by stating, "Cancer risk among people drinking chlorinated water is as much as 93% higher than among those whose water does not contain chlorine."

Exposure to chlorine has also been found to trigger asthma.

But what when it comes to bottled water vs tap water, why isn't bottled water a viable alternative?

Even though municipal water treatment systems are outdated, the federal government still requires them to meet certain safety standards. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the bottled water industry.

There are no governmental standards that oversee the safety and purity of bottled water. These companies are under no obligation to provide water that is any safer than tap.

There are also serious environmental issues that cannot be overlooked when it comes to bottled water.

The pollution that is added to our planet from the production, transportation and disposal of the 60,000,000 plus plastic bottles rivals the worst chemical manufacturing plants.

As a result, cities across the country are taking steps to prevent this harmful environmental impact by enacting legislation that makes it illegal to spend city monies on bottled water. Chicago has levied a 5 cent per bottle tax to discourage the consumption of bottled water by its citizens.

But if there is no winner in the bottled water vs tap water contest, how can we protect ourselves from this serious public health risk?

Fortunately, modern technology has made it possible to have effective home water filtration systems easily installed in our homes. Affordable, convenient, easy-to-install and maintain home water treatment appliances continue to be at the top of many family's "must have" lists.

While reverse osmosis and distillation remain popular, they have serious drawbacks when it comes to getting rid of certain chemicals and bacteria. I have found that the best of these water treatment systems are based upon multi-stage filtration.

This health-guarding technology has been designed to protect against the harmful effects of chemical contaminants, including chlorine, guard older plumbing from heavy metal leeching, and provide you and your family with a convenient source of healthy minerals.

Now that the issue of tap versus bottled water has been solved, why not take a minute or two to look into this exciting, yet simple solution to clean healthy water. It can be one of the most important steps you can take to avoid the risk of serious disease.