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July 8, 2009 6:54 PM

Katie Couric's Notebook: Bottled Water

Posted by Katie Couric
They're everywhere on a hot summer's day: those plastic bottles of water we all seem to carry. Americans drank $16 billion dollars worth last year, but how much do you really know about your favorite brand?

Two reports out today recommend better labeling. The utility that pumps water to your house has to publish an annual quality report. Bottlers don't. In fact, out of 188 brands analyzed, only two disclose where their water comes from, how it's purified and what chemicals it may contain.

Bottlers test their water regularly and insist it's pure and no one disputes that. But what comes from the kitchen faucet practically for free is often just as good or better than what you paid two bucks for.

By not giving customers the facts, there's no way to tell and some bottlers like it that way. 40 percent of bottled water comes from the tap. If you knew YOURS did, would you still buy it?

That's a page from my notebook.

I'm Katie Couric, CBS News.

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by Pinkyracer October 15, 2009 3:07 PM EDT
Sharon, thanks so much for the information! I am considering switching from filtered tap to delivered 5-gallon water, since LA's water supply is so overstressed. I think Southern California is one of the few places where it makes sense to import water, albeit NOT in tiny plastic bottles.

As for Nestle, how lucky were they to get the state of Florida to give them, free of charge, eternal access to a spring in that state? Especially in the summer of 2008 when the southeastern US was hit by the worst drought it's ever seen? So generous of Nestle to take that free spring water and sell it to the people...
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by mikey813 August 20, 2009 9:04 PM EDT
Soon to be the fashionable trend in personal hydration products:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOYMmgmuw4s
http://hippohydration.com
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by janeatwaters July 10, 2009 2:44 PM EDT
The reports issued this week point out Nestlé Waters North America?s efforts to be transparent.

We want consumers to know what they?re drinking, which is why we've made quality reports available for all our brands since 2005. These reports are comparable to those published by public water utilities and are based on independent testing results from certified labs. Consumers can access these reports via phone number or Web site, both of which are listed on product labels.

It?s equally important that consumers know where our water comes from. That?s why we identify water sources for all our brands on bottle labels and/or online.

Drinking more water is a smart, healthful choice, but bottled water and tap water are not the same. To check out the difference, consumers may want to compare a municipal water quality reports with one of our brand?s quality report.

Jane Lazgin
Director, Corporate Communications
Nestlé Waters North America
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by geetha701 July 10, 2009 12:59 PM EDT
Think Outside the Bottle - www.thinkoutsidethebottle.org - is a great campaign trying to hold private corporations accountable. Tap water's healthy, safe and dependable. let's put the money there!
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by WorldofWater July 10, 2009 11:02 AM EDT
Spot-on Sharon!!! While statements like Katie's reinforce the fact that all drinking water (tap or bottled) are not created equally, they can be extremely misleading and harmful. Tap water is FAR from pure as you have discovered from your research. And bottled water is not necessarily better, but SOME can be much, MUCH better, purer and healthier. In fact, since 99.8% of tap water is not used for drinking, municipalities cannot afford to use more sophisticated filtration, purification & disinfection techniques like absolute 1-micron filtration, reverse osmosis, distillation, activated oxygen (aka ozone) disinfection, etc., etc..
I hope this helps.
Kind regards,
Joseph
World of Water
Oakville, ON, Canada
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by teklaka July 9, 2009 6:42 PM EDT
Thanks Katie. It would be great since there's reporting on Bottled water to also get clear with how tap water isn't necessarily better for you.

As an immune compromised individual which can be life-threatening if not monitored, ?NOT ALL BOTTLED WATERS ARE ALIKE?, and some bottled waters are positively safer than tap for people with weakened immune systems, those may have undergone chemotherapy treatment, received organ transplants, suffer from HIV/Aids, or other immune disorders. Some elderly and infants can be particularly at risk from infection. The information you relayed to the general public can be quite harmful and even life-threatening.

As a resident of Los Angeles I am a customer of the Los Angeles Water and Power Company. Each year by Federal law, all city municipalities are required to send their customers a report on the water quality. In August on 2008, I read the LADWP report and was stunned to find a bolded paragraph on page 3 that stated: ?Health Related Notices, Precautions for People With Weakened Immune Systems. Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water than the general population. People with weakened immune systems, may have undergone chemotherapy treatment, received organ transplants, suffer from HIV/Aids, or other immune disorders. Some elderly and infants can be particularly at risk from infection. People with these types of health challenges should seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers?. The annual LADWP report landed in my mailbox last week and again, the same warning.

After further research I found that the majority of city municipalities do not adequately filter the water to lessen the risk of Cryptosporidium and other microbial contaminants. Cryptosporidium can wreak havoc in the gut, causing explosive diarrhea, dehydration and is debilitating especially to those whose immune system is compromised. After visiting the EPA site to learn more, the essential tool in preventing cryptosporidium contamination can be achieved by filtering water with a 1 micron filtration system in addition to ultraviolet and ozone, a more costly process in which cities cannot afford. In addition, municipal tap water is filled with pharmaceuticals and other contaminants water which make it less desirable. That led me to go to Whole Foods and other health food stores to literally buy, research online, taste and sample over a dozen brands of bottled waters to find out which ones would be suited and safe for me. I personally selected a water called AQUAMANTRA that surpassed all of the filtration standards set by the EPA and is actually delicious and has a steady ph level of 7.4.

In some aspects your story was right, some bottled waters are filtered tap water?but then again, there are bottled natural spring and mineral waters that go through extensive filtration to eliminate microbial threats. The San Francisco Chronicle and LA Times ran a similar story last year and I called Tina Dennis, the Health Editor at the Times and asked her if she knew that the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power states in their own materials that they do not advise immune compromised individuals drinking the water. She did not, and yet, the LA Times ran no retraction. I have called numerous other institutions that have run published comparison studies between bottled and tap, and absolutely NONE of them knew of the precautionary warnings on municipal systems. I can forward that information if you would like.

I bring this to your attention because the immune compromised, the elderly and infants are continually ignored in this ongoing story and our numbers are large. While we don?t ask for ramps on sidewalks or special toilet stalls, we deserve to get correct information as do the entire population so we can make informed choices. We cannot and should not drink municipal tap water. I would ask that you as a responsible journalist finally set the record straight. While it may not seem that this clarification is important enough to those making these reports, to the immune compromised, it is our lives.

As you can tell, I am rather passionate about this issue and I sincerely appreciate your time and consideration in setting the record straight.

In Health,
Sharon Lindsey
Los Angeles
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