On the outskirts of Bethlehem, in the West Bank, sits Aida refugee camp. Established in 1950, this camp began as an informal settlement for Palestinian families displaced by conflict. Sixty-five years later, the nearly 5,000 refugees living there are surviving on stopgap water and sanitation infrastructure. Water does not flow freely and during the summer months, it often does not flow at all. During the summer, contaminated water is a looming concern for the people here. Water that sits, stagnant, in the pipelines and cisterns has a greater risk of contamination, and consequently, a greater risk of illness for those who drink it.
In an otherwise different part of the world, women and children approach a community water pump in the mountainous country of Rwanda. The water pump has broken, and to use it leads to contamination and further disrepair. Families will instead spend hours collecting dirty water from puddles, streams and swamps. In no way dissimilar to other villages in this country, piped water is not a guarantee. No matter how it comes, water is not well regulated, if at all. Waste accumulation, poor resources, and limited governmental capacity all contribute to a suffering water quality, and in turn, a suffering population.
Contaminated water is a real concern for these communities, as diarrheal disease, an outcome of poor water quality, kills an estimated 2,300 people per day globally. According to the World Health Organization, a child dies from a water-related illness every single minute. These statistics, though scary in their sheer magnitude, bring perspective to the global water burden. 750 million people in the world (approximately 1 in 9 people) lack access to safe water. That’s more than two times the entire population of the United States.
Here in the U.S., we have some of the cleanest water in the world. And yet, most of us don’t drink it. We are the largest consumer of bottled water in the world, and sales have been resolutely rising for over three decades. It makes the rational consumer wonder, why buy water?
The Domestic Paradox
In the U.S., our water is safe and highly regulated. Drinking water is monitored by the Environmental Protection Agency, which sets regulations on safe contaminant levels. The U.S. Public Health Service established fluoridation of the public water supply over fifty years ago and is considered by the CDC as one of the ten greatest public health achievements of the 20th century. Water and waste management systems have also been evolving concurrently to manage the swelling populations of our top cities.
Boston’s own Deer Island is home to the revolutionary Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA), whose world-renown facilities provide resources to over 2.2 million people in the metropolitan Boston area. The MWRA reports annually on the region’s water, the results of which are distributed to residents and available online for viewing. Monthly reports are also available. The American Water Works Association, a nonprofit dedicated to managing and treating water, recently declared the MWRA’s water to be the second best tasting water in the entire country. You might be thinking, if the MWRA is number two, who has the number one best tasting water? That would be our very own Boston Water and Sewer Commission. Suffice to say, you cannot go wrong with local water.
Look Beyond the Marketing
So now that we know how good our tap water is, why do we buy? The bottled water industry has exploded since the 1990s, and continues to grow as we are inculcated with propaganda that bottled water is cleaner, healthier, and more delicious than the nearly free water from our tap.
However, numerous studies have shown that tap water and bottled water are nearly identical in quality, with half of all bottled water being actually identical, as many large companies get it directly from the public supply. Additionally, bottled water regulations are less strict than tap water regulations and have the potential for more quality discrepancies. Fluoride, for example, is not mandated in bottled water, proposing an increased risk of dental cavities for the dedicated bottled consumer.
The waste associated with bottled water is dramatic and extends not just to our own environment, but the environments of countries whose water is not nearly as drinkable as ours. Research studying plastic pollution has found that plastic waste finds its way to the ocean, accumulates in ocean currents, and spreads around the world. Plastic water bottles, caps, rings and fragments from the east coast of the US can be reliably tracked into the ocean currents, where they add to the trash accumulation on the shores of far-off countries, or pollute marine life in the vast open seas. A single plastic bottle can have a life span of 1,000 years, adding to the pervasive global burden of waste.
Go Local
One of the biggest arguments for bottled water consumption is convenience. You’re out, you can’t fill up a cup from your sink, so what else are you going to do to stay hydrated? Where can you get a drink without buying into plastic? Well, luckily for Boston, BeCause Water is addressing this problem with the Drop In App. This app, downloadable on your phone, identifies free sources of local water all around the city. Whether you’re out for a run during the hot summer months or, more likely, lost in a frozen snow tundra, this app identifies businesses and shops that are happy to invest in a smaller bottle footprint by offering you free, clean, and delicious water.
So when it comes to drinking water, go local. We have the capacity and the standards to ensure safe, high quality basic needs, a battle that is still waging in much of the world. We should aim to decrease our plastic bottle footprint, and support the local systems that ensure our health and safety each day. By decreasing our consumption of plastic bottles locally, we can help lighten the global burden of water, waste, and disease.
Recently BPA, a chemical used in plastic bottles, has been linked to another health problem in humans. BPA has a long list of negatives but continues to be used in plastic bottles because the chemical is so cheap. Most recently BPA has been showed to cause thinning arteries, which can lead to heart attacks. We took a look at some of the problems that BPA has been found to cause:
Narrow Arteries
A recent study at The University of Cambridge and the University of Exeter found an association between high BPA levels in the blood and severe coronary artery stenosis, the medical name for narrow arteries. The more stenosis an artery has, the more likely it is to become blocked. Blocked arteries lead to chest pain, tightness, and eventually heart attacks. Researchers concluded that exposure to BPA contributes to heart disease. Many people with heart disease unknowingly put their health at risk every time they use a plastic bottle.
Developmental Problems
The most concerning BPA related problems have to do with their impact on childhood growth and development. BPA was banned from baby bottles and other children’s products earlier this year amid health concerns. BPA has been linked to reduced fetal and newborn development, and wheezing in children among other problems.
Time Magazine recently put out a piece explaining that while BPA is banned from bottles and cups, the chemical is still abundant in children’s toys and apparel. This means that children are still being exposed to the potentially deadly chemical everyday, often without even realizing it. With all of the health concerns associated with BPA, it’s time to completely eliminate the use of the chemical in children’s products.
Lingering Problems
BPA has been proven to have serious medical concerns in animal testing and in human interaction. Exposure to BPA has been linked to cause everything from neurological problems to reproductive disorders in adults. We found a list of every side effect associated with BPA; its stunning how a chemical can continue to be used when it is known to cause so many health problems.
Take Action
There are a few easy ways to limit your BPA intake:
Always choose fresh food over processed, bulk buy products
When bottled water first hit American shelves, it made an impact almost immediately. In 1976, Americans were only drinking 1.6 gallons per person, by 2002 it was up to 18.2 gallons, and now we’re averaging a colossal 29.2 gallons per person-more than beer or milk.
So why the dramatic increase in bottled water consumption? As far as we know water didn’t become any more pure or refreshing over the years. However, what we do know is that advertisers have spent sickly amounts of money to convince consumers that bottled water is good for the environment, healthier than tap water, and worth your money.
We took a look at some commercials and broke down some of the best bottled water scams strategies for making a splash.
Make it “natural”
Poland Spring’s “Born Better” tagline is an example of the most common strategy for selling bottled water. You show some panoramic shots of waterfalls, maybe some people kayaking, and imply that your bottled water is naturally better and more healthy than any other brand. Every bottled water source is “pristine” or “untouched” by man…and then bottled, shipped, and sold. Of course, nothing is more natural than an international corporation invading and taking resources from a local community. See how natural your tap water is by visiting by requesting our Free water quality analysis.
Make it “Eco-Friendly”
As more and more negative press surfaces against bottled water companies, the new strategy is to focus on how environmentally conscious your product is. Dasani’s “Plant Bottle” commercial has the Earth, some pure water, a plant growing… these are all images to link bottled water to nature and convey a positive environmental image. The bottle is 30% plant material, but that will make no difference when the majority of the bottles end up in landfills, the ocean, and other places they don’t belong. Massachusetts company Corporate Accountability International has been battling bottled water corporations for years, and you can help join in the fight.
Make it “fun”
A minute-long spot for Aquafina water equates the product to alcohol and implies the wild (yet refined) times that you will have consuming their specific brand of water. Everybody’s having a good time, you can party with your friends, show a little cleavage, and dance with a fish. You might even get thrown out of a window! Aquafina doesn’t bother talking about nature or filtration, but rather treats water like beer and shows a wild party. The tagline “The more water you drink, the better you feel” is a great way to sell bottles. Plus, you want to have as much fun as the people in the commercial, right?
Get a Celebrity/Famous Song
Or both. Smartwater is smart (the water itself is smart apparently?). They have fully embraced the “internet culture” of today and create a “smart”, “edgy” commercial for their product featuring Jennifer Aniston. The commercial features internet references, humor, puppies; anything to show how clever and funny and ahead of the game Smartwater is. Over two million views, almost three minutes long, and they only actually talk about the product for a few seconds. Smart Advertising.
It is well known that American water supplies have been treated with fluoride, but what is less clear are the long-term effects of fluoridation. Supporters of fluoridation say that the chemical helps strengthen teeth, while detractors worry about potentially dangerous side effects. The issue is still hotly debated with vocal advocates on both sides, and a wide variety of opinions exist on the practice.
We’ve all heard of fluoride, but just how often do we come into contact with it? Bottled water and many other beverages are treated with fluoride, often with no indication to consumers. Is fluoride a helpful tool for dental health, or an unnecessary chemical? Should bottled water companies be required to communicate the fluoridation of water on their product’s label?
What Is Fluoride?
Most of us have had fluoride applied by a dentist after a tooth cleaning, but you come into contact with fluoride more often than you think. Fluorides are chemicals used in the production of a number of products such as:
Pesticides
Insulation
Nuclear fuel
Teflon
Bio-medical supplies
The fluoride used in water treatment is hexafluorosilic acid, known to prevent tooth decay in acceptable doses. However, the rise of fluoride toothpaste has led many experts to argue that adding it to public water has become unnecessary. In addition, elevated fluoride levels are known to cause health problems, a potentially unwanted consequence of water fluoridation.
Supporters of water fluoridation say that the process leads to better dental health for a population, and many supporters consider the process extremely beneficial for impoverished populations. Opponents of water fluoridation argue that the process is too expensive to justify and potentially harmful to human health. Both sides of the debate continue to gain steam as water fluoridation remains a controversial topic even in the 21st century.
Fluoride is proven to prevent tooth decay, and water fluoridation is an easy way to deliver this benefit to the public. The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention listed water fluoridation as one of the ten greatest public health achievements of the 20th century. We spoke to dentist Shivani Pareek of North End Dental Associates, who told us “Fluoridation at the appropriate level is the smart way to treat water”. Fluoride is a proven tool to fight tooth decay, which particularly affects young and impoverished populations.
Fluoride Flaws
Many people see water fluoridation as a challenge to individual rights. The practice was useful in the 20th century, but many experts feel the rise of fluoride toothpaste has made fluoridation unnecessary. Dr. Myron Wentz, an internationally recognized microbiologist and founder of USANA Health Sciences Inc., is a fluoride expert and points out that most American fluoride is purchased as an industrial waste product from China. Chinese suppliers actually list fluoride as an insecticide, raising more concerns about the business ethics of Chinese industrial suppliers and the safety of the chemical. What’s more, many European countries have seen a dramatic decline in tooth decay with no water fluoridation simply because of the rise of fluoride toothpaste.
Ever since its implementation in 1945, water fluoridation has had strong vocal opinions on both sides of the argument. Whether you support fluoridation or avoid it at all costs, the debate looks like it won’t be going away anytime soon. If you want to completely avoid fluoridated water, this website explains what filters are capable of removing fluoride from water and which filters cannot.
Join Our Newsletter
Stay updated on the latest Grant Opportunities, Policy updates, and Research.
