Such a strong opinion, I know, but once you’re done reading this article, hopefully you’ll see where I’m coming from. The more I learn about the bottled water industry, the more dismayed I am that a market still exists for it. I guess that says a lot about the power of advertising.
So why the contempt for such a seemingly insignificant product? People need water, right? And the best tasting water comes from a bottle, no? Let me start off with…
A brief history of plumbing
Somewhere around 3,000 years ago, the people of the Near East (now more popularly categorized into the larger category of the Middle East) realized that trading goods would get them farther in life than forever hanging out next to the rivers that sustained them. Though, in order to trade their wares, they had to move away from these oases…but they still needed their water. After what was probably a lot of head scratching and beard stroking, they devised a plan to dig a ditch, later known as an aqueduct, that would carry the water to a more prominent trading location. Several hundred years later, the Romans, flexing their mental (and just as often physical) muscles, took this concept to a whole new level, conquering lands far and wide across Europe, The Middle East, and Northern Africa and carrying water across hundreds of miles of plains and valleys with aqueducts built of stone and, later, concrete in order to support the growth of their empire and sustain the trading hubs that kept them growing. Life was good, and getting better. However, there was one big, ugly problem. As cities grew and grew, water-borne illness began to claim more and more lives. Unfortunately, this was not fully understood until more than 2,000 years later when Louis Pasteur and a handful of other scientists brought widespread acceptance to Germ Theory. Less than 100 years later, there wasn’t a developed nation in the world that didn’t protect their municipal water and even begin using it to convey human waste away from buildings where further treatment would render it harmless. Throw in a bit of invention here, a touch of innovation there and…Voila! Modern plumbing and water sanitation.
As you can see, billions of lives were sacrificed and thousands of years of thought were spent creating a system that allows you to walk into your kitchen and drink a glass of water while being more than reasonably sure that you will not die or even become sick. Drinking bottled water is like slapping each and every one of those people in the face. Sure, that’s complete hyperbole, but you get my point.
The cost of bottled water to you
As much contempt as I have for the bottled water industry, I am also amazed by their ability to get people to pay for something that they can obtain more conveniently for virtually free. That is, as far as I can tell, utter brilliance used for evil rather than good. Do you think you should pay more for water than you do for gasoline? Here’s an exerpt from an article that puts it in perspective:
Take, for instance, Pepsi’s Aquafina or Coca-Cola’s Dasani bottled water. Both are sold in 20 ounce sizes and can be purchased from vending machines alongside soft drinks — and at the same price. Assuming you can find a $1 machine, that works out to 5 cents an ounce. These two brands are essentially filtered tap water, bottled close to their distribution point. Most municipal water costs less than one cent per gallon.
Now consider another widely-sold liquid: gasoline. It has to be pumped out of the ground in the form of crude oil, shipped to a refinery (often halfway across the world), and shipped again to your local filling station.
In the U.S., the average price per gallon is hovering around $3. There are 128 ounces in a gallon, which puts the current price of gasoline at fraction over 2 cents an ounce. (Editor’s note: The station down the street from me is currently advertising regular unleaded at $2.37 per gallon, putting it at a fraction under 2 cents an ounce)
And that’s why there’s no shortage of companies which want to get into the business. In terms of price versus production cost, bottled water puts Big Oil to shame. (Full article here)
Environmental and Social Impact
Of course, this post wouldn’t be complete without an overview of the impacts that the bottled water industry has on our environment and society at large. The production of it, the bottles that contain it, the thousands of miles it has to be transported to get to your store, the distance you have to travel to purchase it – every step of the process requires precious energy to support the system. Compare that to the single plant that treats your municipal water and the few pumps that conveniently deliver it directly to your home and the energy disparity becomes pretty obvious. Also, take into consideration that when you finish that bottle of water, it has to go somewhere. Hopefully, if you’re reading this blog, it at least makes it into your recycling container. While certainly the best option and kudos to you for making the effort to recycle, even recycling comes at an energy cost that can’t compare to the energy saved by simply drinking from you tap. One more issue that should not be taken lightly is the fact that the rise in popularity of bottled water detracts from the improvement of our municipal water systems. While I’m far from a Doom’s Day theorist and water is safer than it ever has been, attention to the continued safety of our public water is just as important as it has ever been. If a worst case scenario were to occur and public drinking water were to become unsafe to drink, you can be sure that most of us would no longer be able to afford its bottled counterpart. The protection of our public water is important to your health, no matter how little of it you currently drink.
But my tap water tastes awful!
I can hear you right now saying to yourself, “Ok, I get it. Bottled water is exorbitantly expensive and you think I’m irresponsible for drinking it, but my tap water tastes horrible and I can’t stand it.” Well, hold on there. You’re putting words in my mouth. I didn’t say you’re irresponsible and I don’t think it, either. Taste is a valid concern. I know because half the time I take a plain salad to work for lunch, I end up staring at it for five minutes before putting it back in the refrigerator and going to a restaurant down the street. Luckily for us water snobs, there are a number of companies that have gone to a lot of work to develop products that will make it taste a lot better to be frugally green (see what I did there?). Brita and Pur are practically household names these days, but there are other companies, as well, offering competitive products worth looking into. Check out these websites to find reviews, tips, and side-by-side comparisons to help you choose the best filtration system for you:
There are plenty of options out there to fit nearly every need from basic pitchers to faucet mounted devices to full household systems at any price range, including frugal, like you and me! Personally, my household doesn’t require a lot of filtered drinking water, so I use the standard, old Brita pitcher unit that I keep in the fridge. The sticker on the side says that I should change the filter every 2 months, but we’re going on about 6 months (maybe more, who’s counting?), and the water still tastes great. Since I’m not currently concerned with all the possibly “terrible things” that could be in my drinking water, I will keep using this filter until the water running through it gives me bitter-beer-face (remember those old Keystone Light commercials from the 90s?). For water on the go, consider picking up a couple of aluminum bottles like these. I still use those plastic Nalgene bottles. But, once the media finally convinces me that they’ll give me cancer, I’ll probably switch to aluminum (This concern exists for disposable plastic water bottles as well, so just one more reason to stop buying them).
Considering all options, ditching the bottled water for a filtration system is a pretty darn cheap and easy way to save money, help the environment, and give your fellow man a hand. Who knew it could be so simple? I know, of course you did. You’re so smart!
Do you use any sort of water filtration system? Do you recommend one? Maybe you’re tougher than the rest of us and just drink from the tap? Can you think of any time a bottle of water from the vending machine is a better option than the alternative (like visiting a 3rd world or developing nation)?
Editor’s note: I would like to make it clear that I do not promote or endorse any of the products in this article. All links are for imformational purposes only. When I decide to promote a specific product that I feel strongly about, I will make it very clear that I am doing so!