Murky Waters

I've been doing some reading on the evils of bottled water...and the perceived evils of tap water. Seems each side of the argument has a huge following of devoted bottle drinkers vs. tap suckers.

I'm a tap sucker, myself. And after learning a bit more about the subject, I plan to stay that way.

The obvious argument against bottled water is the physical pollution all those plastic bottles cause. Here are a few extra facts, gleaned from different sources:

• Most bottled water contains no fluoride. Fluoride ingestion through drinking water can reduce tooth decay up to 15%.
• Canadian water supplies are inspected daily, while bottled water facilities are inspected every three years. THREE YEARS!!!
• Your body absorbs more chlorine during an average shower than is contained in 2 litres of tap water.
• High bottled water consumption could possibly, one day, lead to privatizing municipal water supplies. Yikes.
• Dasani (a Coca-Cola product) and Aquafina (a Pepsi product) are filtered municipal (tap) waters.

That's all some pretty scary stuff on its own...add to it that bottled water (probably not the municipal filtered kind though) has been leached of its vital minerals and nutrients (which it then leaches from US when we drink it), and you can see why I'm sticking with the faucet.

The other side does have its arguments, mostly about taste. There are a few other factors, some of the concerns are:

• The pipes tap water comes through. The minerals in the water may eat away at the pipes, and you end up drinking these metals. (Bottled water facilities don't use pipes?)
• Bacteria. (See above list for frequency of inspections.)
• Convenience of buying new bottles and not keeping track of a refillable. (The three R's, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and listed in order of importance. REDUCE.)
  

If you're completely undecided, get a tap filter. Oh, and skip the plastic reusable bottles...stainless steel is the way to go because it doesn't release bisphenol-A, which is linked to birth defects, miscarriage, and some forms of cancer.