Tap Water vs. Bottled Water
Bottled water is definitely not better than tap water and it is an environmental problem. The regulations for bottled water are not as tough as they are for tap water. If you are on a public water system, the EPA has established safety standards for about 80 chemicals that contaminate drinking water. State water agencies are required to follow these EPA regulations and to provide their customers with an annual report on their compliance.
Bacteria, parasites and viruses are handled by treating the water with chlorine or chloramine, which may also be harmful. There are also contaminants found in tap water that are not regulated. Since these contaminants are not covered by EPA regulations, any concentration of them in tap water is legal, no matter how high.
You can find the list of contaminants covered by the EPA regulations at www.epa.gov/safewater/contaminants/index.html. It includes the sources, the health effects, and the EPA’s maximum allowable levels. You can also find reports from many large public water departments at www.epa.gov/safewater/dwinfo/index.html.
Bottled water is not required to be tested as frequently as tap water. The FDA rules allow for some contamination from E. coli, this is prohibited in tap water. Bottled water doesn’t have to be tested or treated for Crytosporidium or Giardia, public water does. About 25% of bottled water comes from public water supplies.
The FDA allows bottlers to call their product “spring water” even though it may be treated with chemicals. With the average price for bottled water at about $1.50 per liter, it is more expensive than gasoline. There is also the issue of toxins leaching out of the plastic and into your water. Then there is the environmental cost of producing, bottling and shipping bottled water, and the bottle then ends up as litter or in the landfill forever. Because of plastic’s slow decay rate, the majority of all plastics ever produced still exist somewhere. The Container Recycling Institute estimates that only 20% of water bottles are recycled.
Most water bottles are made with polyethylene terephthalate, a crude oil derivative. Each year, 29 billion plastic water bottles are produced for use in the United States, according to the Earth Policy Institute, an environmental organization in Washington, D.C. Manufacturing them requires the equivalent of 17 million barrels of crude oil annually. That’s enough to fuel more than a million cars for a year. Recycling one plastic bottle can save enough energy to power a 60-watt light bulb for six hours.
Filtering your household water is much cheaper and safer than drinking bottled water. Filtering systems fall into two categories: point of entry – which treats your water where it enters the house and point of use – which treats your water after you turn on the faucet.
There is a not-for-profit agency called NSF International, www.nsf.org, that establishes performance standards for all types of filters.
Activated Carbon Filters – a point of use system that mounts under the countertop or attaches directly to the faucet. The simplest and least expensive activated carbon filters are built into specially made pitchers. These filters eliminate bad tastes and odors, including chlorine, and may reduce copper, lead, mercury, radon, pesticides, Crytosporidium, Giardia and several kinds of volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
Cation Exchange Softeners – a point of entry system that binds minerals that make water hard, cuts down calcium and magnesium deposits in your pipes and reduces health hazards such as radon and barium.
Distillers – these can be either point of entry or point of use. They boil the water and condense it, eliminating heavy metals, nitrates, nitrites and some microorganisms. They can be combined with carbon filters to also filter out VOCs.
Reverse osmosis – a point of entry system that consists of a prefilter, a reverse osmosis membrane and a post filter. They reduce dissolved solids, fluoride, heavy metals, pollutants, Cryptosporidium and Giardia.
Ultraviolet Microbiological Treatment Systems – typically point of entry systems. They eliminate bacteria and viruses and are used with both carbon filters and sediment screens.
British Berkefeld® Gravity Water Filter with four 7" Super SterasylTM Ceramic Water Filter Elements
The versatile Big Berkey system is the ideal system for use at home with small or medium sized families, travel, outdoor activities or during unexpected emergencies. This powerful system filters both treated water and untreated raw water from such sources as remote lakes, streams, stagnant ponds and water supplies in foreign countries, where regulations may be substandard at best. Perfect for outdoor activities and a must in hostile environments where electricity, water pressure or treated water may not be available. The Big Berkey system removes pathogenic bacteria, cysts and parasites and reduces harmful chemicals such as herbicides, pesticides, and VOCs without removing the beneficial minerals your body needs. Constructed of highly polished 304 stainless steel, the system comes complete with four 7" ceramic elements. This system has a storage capacity of about 2.25 gallons (8.5 liters) and when in use it stands 19.25" in height with a diameter of 8.5". The upper chamber nests within the lower chamber for transport and stands only 13" in height. The system will filter about 25 to 30 Gallons (95-115 liters) per day.
Willard Water is the original catalyst-altered water developed nearly half a century ago by Dr. John Willard. The incredible properties of Willard Water have amazed chemists and healthcare professionals for decades. This special formulation features high concentrations of nourishing lignite organics, which give it its distinctive dark color.
Dr. Willard's Water has some very unusual properties, setting it apart from regular water, including:
Increased absorption of nutrients
Increased elimination of toxins and wastes
An exceptional scavenger of free radicals & antioxidant
Reducing inflammation
Raising alkalinity
Helpful with skin conditions
Those properties explain many of the benefits reported over the years. After all, most people now recognize, if you improve nutritional absorption and elimination of toxins, you'll see some health benefits. Additionally, some experts say 80% to 90% of all adverse health conditions are caused by free radicals and Willard's Water has been found to be an exceptional scavenger of them (because of its nearly endless supply of electrons to "give up"). And anyone in pain knows that reducing swelling can be a big positive.
Dr. Willard's Water is the only Patented product of this type and the only one seen on "60 Minutes"--no matter what anyone may tell you, there Is Nothing Else Like Dr. Willard's Water!
And, yes, it's SAFE! It's been classified as non-toxic, non-corrosive, non-carcinogenic, and causing no mutagenic activity within the framework of the Spot Test of Ames, McCann and Yamasaki. Translation: to the best of today's knowledge, Dr. Willard's Water, and its derived solutions, are harmless.