Spring water bottled has become an unbelievably trendy concept and a multibillion dollar a year industry. We have to ask ourselves if we ever imagined, 25 years ago, paying for what was virtually free? Amazing! What is even more amazing is the marketing campaign that has led us to believe that tap water is hazardous to our health and spring water in a bottle is the only safe alternative. Just to give you an idea of how distortions get out of control there was a spring water bottling company that was ruined about 10 years ago for drawing water right out of the Potomac River near Washington D.C. Others are known today to draw water directly from the tap and bottle for resale. There is no question that the spring water bottling industry has contributed to life saving operations world wide in disaster and war torn areas but to perpetuate the myths of their superiority over tap water is disturbing. The aggressive marketing campaign by the bottling companies has been a huge success

Spring water is considered water the flows from an underground formation naturally to the earths surface. Spring water must be collected only at the spring or through a borehole tapping the underground formation feeding the spring. Spring water collected with the use of an external force must be from the same underground stratum as the spring and must have all the physical properties before treatment, and be of the same composition and quality as the water that flows naturally to the surface of the earth.

Just the fact that a spring water bottling water company extracted that water from a spring it doesn't mean that chemicals weren't added. Over the road tractor trailers are known to contribute to contaminants seeping into the water being transported. It can still be contaminated by acid rain, industrial pollution, or parasites. A label on a bottle that says "spring water" doesn't necessarily mean that it is natural, safe, healthy, and pure. One of the aspects of FDA regulations that govern the standards of the bottled water industry is that they don't regulate the companies that package and sell bottled water in the same state (which is 60-70% of all water sold in the U.S.). This means that one in five states doesn't regulate this water. Observe some of the labels below of several companies that caused the FDA to take regulatory action in 1995 that drive home this point;

Spring Water (a picture of a lake with a mountain backdrop on the label). This water was actually taken from an industrial parking lot next to a hazardous waste site. Alasika™ Alaska Premium Glacial Drinking Water: Pure Glacier Water From the Last Unpolluted Frontier, Bacteria Free" -- Apparently came from a public water supply. This label has since been changed after FDA intervention. Vals Water "Known to Generations in France for its Agreeable Contribution to Health and Purity . . . Reputed to Help Restore Energy, Vitality, and Combat Fatigue" -- The International Bottled Water Association voluntary code prohibits health claims, but some bottlers still make such claims. If one can't be sure then if bottled water is safe, what is the alternative? How about tap water? Drinking water from the tap has become so taboo that some people will avoid water altoghether unless it comes from a bottle. The FDA does not require the following conditions met ofr bottled water; disinfection, confirmation of the absence of E. Virses, Giardia, Coli and Fecal Coliform, testing for Cryptosporiduim, and filter removal of pathogens,. These are all required by the EPA for tap water but not for bottled water. Surprising wouldn't you say? Another consideration; bacterial testing for bottled water is once per weeks whereas tap water is tested hundreds of times per month. Testing for synthetic organic chemicals for tap water is once per quarter whereas bottled water is once per year. What's even worse is that carbonated and seltzer waters follow none of the aforementioned guidelines or standards. So the next time you purchase bottled spring water thinking it is the answer to the tap water, do remember that the FDA standards that govern the bottled water industry aren't as strict as EPA standards for tap water.

Marketing is very powerful tool to sell products. Now that we know that bottled water is not necessarily purified water my suggestion is to acquire the city water testing standards and results to be safe but purchase a carbon block filter/uv light purification water treatment system for your home drinking water.