Hello everyone!
So, for my 6th blog assignment I was instructed
to learn the pros and cons of tap water vs. bottled water.
The first part of this assignment involved me finding out
where exactly my home’s tap water came from. So, what did it I find out? Well,
after some research I came across that Riverside’s water is received from
Riverside Public Utilities. It is essentially snow/rain water the starts out on
our local mountains, and then flows downhill into underground aquifers. From
there the water is then filtered through a purification process that occurs
naturally otherwise known as percolation. This is done yearly, usually after a
storm. Now, these water sources are
located all throughout Riverside, and even San Bernardino. Source:http://www.riversideca.gov/utilities/pdf/wqar/2012/wqar-2012.pdf
The second part of the assignment had me researching tap (drinking)
water standards and comparing/contrasting the results with bottled water
standards. So, I found out the drinking water standards in California are some
of the highest out of all the 50 states. There is actually an act that was
passed by Congress in 1974 to ensure that all drinking water is free of harmful
chemicals. Known as The Safe Drinking Water Act, it requires that each state
carry our tests that are rigorous in order to ensure that the water received from
each provide is safe to drink. Tests are carried out on a daily bases, and they
make sure they meet, if not surpass all standards set by the act. The agencies
that are in charge of regulating drinking water are the California Department
of Public Health (CDPH) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
As for bottled water,
much to what we have been taught to believe, it is not safer than tap water. It
is controlled by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and doesn’t undergo
nearly as much regulation as tap water does. More so, the FDA’s record for
protecting out health is not the best. That alone is evidence to whether or not
bottle water is really safe. The FDA only inspects the plants where bottled
water comes from every couple of years. This is in comparison to the daily
tests that our tap water undergoes. Even
scarier is that independent testing of 10 popular brands of bottled water found
out that they contained around 38 pollutants and an average of around 8 contaminates
in each individual brand.
Lastly, I was instructed to assess the drawbacks of bottled
water. We hear all the time how it is safer and more convenient than tap water,
but as I just pointed out it definitely isn't safer. So, this leads me to convenience.
Certainly the cost makes it less convenient than tap water. In 2009 Americans on average spent 10.6
billion dollars on bottled water, and even more so they were paying 1,000 times
more than what tap water costs. To me,
it seems less convenient to spend an average of 2 dollars on one small bottle
of water that is only going to last a short time. Instead, you could opt for a
reusable bottle and just fill it with tap water. This would not only save money
it would reduce the amount of plastic being polluted. That is, because instead
of being recycled about 75% of the water bottles that are purchased end up in
places such as landfills, lakes and the oceans. It’s not just he plastic
bottles that are bad for the environment, it’s also the fossil fuels that are
used just to produce and transport the bottled water. In the United States
alone the energy used is equal to around 32-54 million barrels of oil.
Source: http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/water/bottled/bottled-water-bad-for-people-and-the-environment/
Overall, I say tap water is a much better choice than
bottled water. You are not only saving money, but also helping out the
environment. If you are still worried about the safety of your tap water, you
can easily find out detailed information by searching for your town’s annual
drinking water report. It is as easy as typing in the name of the town followed
by “annual drinking water report”. If you are still uneasy you can opt for a
Brita filter system, or something similar. This will still help in reducing the
amount of plastic bottles polluted in our environment.
If you are interested, watch this short video about the
story of bottled water J
1 comments:
Oh god this girl
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