Don't buy bottled water

Bottled water has been popping up in the news lately - the Winnipeg Free Press here, CBC there (thanks to David Suzuki). Check out Wiki too, if you want.

Here is the science behind why you should stick to your tap whenever possible:

Health Canada reports that bacteria levels in bottled water increase quickly to maximum levels after six weeks of unrefrigerated shelf life. Since disinfection destroys harmful organisms, this natural regrowth is not considered a health hazard.

"Bacteria are everywhere. Tap water is safe because it's chlorinated from the source, to you," [UBC civil engineering professor Pierre] Berube says. "Bottled water isn't. It's a snapshot of water in a particular time, so if there's something in it, it will continue to grow. When you see sales on bottled water, check the expiry date. I would not buy anything within one year of its expiry date." [WFP]

First off, most bottled water comes from a municipal tap at the start. It wasn't any purer than your tap water before it was bottled. For example, according to the WFP article, Alaska Glacier Water comes from taps in Juneau.

Secondly, the fact that it has an expiry date should tip you off - water isn't infinitely preserved just because it was sealed in a plastic bottle. As the article says, it's possible for bacteria to grow in bottled water, if it was there when the "snapshot" was taken, i.e. when the water was bottled. But I wouldn't be worried about the bacteria so much as the bottle itself.

Certain plastics break down over time, especially under exposure to light and heat. This is why, for example, you might have found heard it's a bad idea to to microwave food with plastic wrap touching it, in case plastic leaches into the food.

Thirdly, the obvious environmental implications of buying bottled water vs drinking from the tap, including but not limited to packaging versus no packaging (even with recycling is taken into account, given that reducing trumps it by a long shot), and fuel consumption and greenhouse gases over neither.

"I think in Canada it's absolutely disgusting that people are so uncertain about their water that we buy it, paying more for bottled water than we do for gasoline." [David Suzuki, CBC]