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Aside from the fact that water, from any source, is an essential nutrient, what would make one source superior to another? First of all, many of the bottled waters people choose to purchase are not from any spring. Some of the bottled water in the supermarkets-especially those in the larger containers-is from the supermarket's tap, in fact. Merely buying water in a container does not mean it's from a healthy source.

That being said, tap water has strict regulatory agencies to monitor its safety. The Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water works with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ensure safe drinking water in each community. You can see a local Consumer Confidence Report about water in your area which is available annually on line. There are laws to safeguard tap water in America, including the Safe Drinking Water Act which is overseen by the EPA.

From an article by the National Resource Defense Council, a few of their findings make some of the bottled water appear much less safe: They compare the rules of what is allowed in bottled versus city water and find that there is no E. coli (fecal bacteria) allowed in tap water, but no prohibition on this bacteria for bottled water; city tap water must be filtered and disinfected, but there are no federal filtration or disinfection requirements for bottled water; high levels of bacteria found in tap water (which must be tested 100 times a month in larger cities) can trigger a violation, but there is no measure in place to penalize bottled waters (which only require testing once a week); and bottled water plants are exempt from standards for certain toxins and cancer-causing chemicals that tap water plants must meet. Furthermore, there is no mandatory reporting of violations for bottled water (as there is for tap water), and no "right to know" reporting telling consumers what is in their water, as city water systems are required to issue.

Testing by the National Resource Defense Council found some bottled waters to contain industrial chemicals, arsenic, and other compounds. Citing differing regulatory statutes from state to state, and from the US to Europe, these studies led them to conclude that bottled water could not be considered to be routinely safer than tap water.

Another benefit of tap water that has long been taken for granted is fluoridation. Decades ago the decision was made to add fluoride to the city water supplies to provide a source of the mineral for people across the country in a public health effort to reduce the incidence of dental caries. Water fluoridation started in the late 1940's and over the years led to a reduction in cavities in children from 50-70% in tested communities. By the 1960's there were standardized recommendations for amounts of fluoride to add to city water supplies, and fluoridation was endorsed by The American Dental Association, the American Medical Association, the World Health Organization, and other professional and scientific organizations.

Tap water appears to be better regulated than bottled waters, and has fluoride added as well, making this the better water source for health and safety.

Learn more about this author, Laurie Beebe.
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