The case for tap water

A news item to the effect that a new licensing system was being proposed for the manufacture and sale of bottled mineral water caught my eye last week. According to the news item, mineral water bottle manufacturers have expressed mixed views on the National Water Supply and Drainage Board's decision to introduce a new licensing system to improve the quality of bottled water in Sri Lanka.

We cannot comment on the merits and demerits of such a move without knowing all the details, but the indisputable fact is that bottling water at source has become a major, highly lucrative industry in Sri Lanka. It also seems to be fairly unregulated.

There are hundreds of manufacturers, not all of whom have got the SLS (Sri Lanka Standards) seal of quality.

The first thing to remember is that not all bottled water can be called 'mineral water', which is water containing minerals or other substances that supposedly give it a therapeutic or health value. The bottlers are required to state the mineral ingredients on the label, as with any other food item, along with the date of manufacture and expiry.

They are also required to state the source, but this is still a hazy area. The manufacturers often get away with stating 'sourced from a natural spring' without specifying where it is exactly located. We also find alluring pictures of waterfalls and bubbling brooks, which may have nothing to do with the source referred to by the bottler. But giving proper locations and directions will make it easy for any person who wishes to see the source to get there.

But then, the manufacturer could also be hiding the truth - he may not be getting the water from a natural spring or stream at all. The certifying authorities must visit the bottling plants and the sources to check the veracity of the manufacturers' claims and their adherence to hygienic manufacturing practices.

Buyers should also exercise caution when buying bottled water. They should always look for properly sealed bottles - an unsealed bottle could mean that the water has been refilled by the store owner probably from a tap.

Look for the dates of manufacture and expiry either on the label or on the bottle itself. They should be clear and legible. (However, the International Bottled Water Association says that commercially produced bottled water can last indefinitely if it is stored properly and left unopened). But it is better to be on the safe side anyway.

Customers should also check whether the label says mineral water or just 'bottled pure water' (or something similar). If the label says mineral water, look at the label again - the mineral components have to be listed there. Look at the price too, because most store owners (but not supermarkets) tend to charge more for chilled bottled water.

There is no doubt that bottled water is convenient. It is generally regarded as pure, the prices are not prohibitive, the bottles are easy to carry around and once the original quantity of water runs out, the bottle can find another life as a carrier for household water or other beverages for a couple of weeks. But that is where the fairytale ends - and not on a happy note either.

Worldwide too, the bottled water industry has become a booming business. Global bottled water sales have increased dramatically over the past several decades, reaching a value of around U$ 60 billion and a volume of more than 115 million litres per annum. The downside is that our infatuation with bottled water is costing the Earth billions of dollars in environmental damage.

The industry is one of the prime users of plastic bottles, most varieties of which are not biodegradable. We tend to throw the plastic bottles away after a single use or may be after a couple of months. These clog up landfills, drains, rivers etc, causing a huge environmental problem. The irony is that even the recyclable PET bottles used by some manufacturers are not being recycled - they are just thrown away. Bottled water thus produces up to 1.5 million tons of plastic waste per year.

Worse still, it takes a massive amount of energy and ironically, water itself, to manufacture bottled water - 'the energy required to manufacture plastic, fabricate the plastic into bottles, process the water, fill and seal the bottles and transport the bottles. A 2007 study found that producing bottled water requires between 5.6 and 10.2 million joules of energy per litre, depending on transport factors (a typical personal-sized water bottle is about 0.5 litres).

That is up to 2,000 times the energy required to produce tap water, which costs about 0.005 million joules per litre for treatment and distribution. In the same year, consumers in the US alone purchased more than 33 billion litres of bottled water, or 110 litres per person.

The total energy required to produce 33 billion litres of water is equivalent to 32-54 million barrels of oil, a staggering amount, based on the hypothesis that all the energy was produced using oil.

It also takes three litres of water to produce one litre of bottled water, when you take all these processes into consideration. Moreover, the entire process of bottling water produces a huge quantity of Carbon Dioxide annually - the manufacture of every ton of PET produces around 3 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2).

Taken as a whole, these facts and figures make a compelling case for moving away from bottled water. Tap water in most countries is as pure as bottled water. In fact, some bottlers have been caught filling their 'spring water' bottles with filtered tap water. In this light, the authorities must further develop the public water purification and delivery systems.

As for householders and offices, it is much cheaper to install filtration systems for tap water than buying bottled water. Remember, litre for litre, bottled water can be over 100 times more expensive. It literally pays to drink pipe-borne water, boiled or filtered if you so desire.

And the environmental impact is minimal too. Giving up the bottle in this case is not that hard after all.