Global Campaigns News

US: Water tasting seeks truth on bottle vs. tap

Sacramento Bee. By Lakiesha McGhee -

Chuck O'Neil slowly sipped the water from a little paper cup, licked his lips and then scratched his chin.
He tried again. But still, he said, his 66-year-old taste buds would not answer the question.
"I have no idea. They all taste the same," O'Neil said after tasting his fourth cup of what may have been bottled or tap water.
Paper cups filled with drinking water from Crystal Geyser, Arrowhead, Nestlé Pure Life and the plain old tap floated around on little trays at the Unitarian Universalist Society of Sacramento.
A group at the church wanted to challenge people's thinking about their choices in drinking water, following national concern in recent months that more empty water bottles are filling municipal waste streams.
Last year, national sales of bottled water rose 9.5 percent, and they are expected to increase another 10 percent in 2007, according to the International Bottle Water Association. The numbers are staggering considering that Americans last year consumed 8.25 billion gallons of the product.
Recycling, on the other hand, has not kept pace with demand for contained water.
A public forum at the church on Sunday discussed the environmental, economic and social impacts of the increasing use of bottled water. Residents also questioned the source of the bottled-water craze. Is it clever marketing? Fear of the tap? Convenience?
"As a mother and grandmother, I am concerned about the growing misuse of water," said Ruth Van Unen, who helped organize the forum and the taste challenge in which participants were blindfolded and asked to distinguish between tap and bottled water.
Van Unen said that for several years she has supported Corporate Accountability International, a membership organization that addresses what it sees as abusive practices by corporations. The organization launched a campaign, "Think Outside the Bottle," which served as the basis for Sunday's discussion, Van Unen said.
The meeting kicked off a series of free monthly forums at the church connected to global issues, Van Unen said.
Stan Whiteside of Sacramento said the discussion was refreshing and made him think twice before wetting his palate. He prepared for the taste challenge by asking for advice.
"Do I have to swallow a lot, or can I just sip a little bit?" Whiteside said as he examined four cups of water that appeared the same.
Candy McMorris sipped her water carefully and identified small traces of chlorine in the tap water.
"It's not much of a difference," McMorris said, explaining that she drinks both tap and bottled water depending on the circumstances.
McMorris said she grew accustomed to bottled water when she lived in Gold River because of problems there with contaminated drinking wells that were taken off line.
Most adults who took the test couldn't tell the difference between tap and bottled water, but children seemed to be the exception, said Pat Naylor, who helped administer the taste challenge.
"What amazes me is that kids can sometimes identify the brand of water," Naylor said. "Maybe their taste buds aren't as damaged as ours."
Sunday's discussion promoted tap water as the better choice and as safe or even safer than bottled water. Organizers pointed to reports and articles that say bottled water faces fewer regulations than tap water. However, bottled water is best in times of emergencies, such as the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Van Unen said. Many bottles also are needed for troops overseas, she said.
"As we all know, water is a basic human need," Van Unen said.
The International Bottle Water Association contends that small, plastic disposable water bottles make up only one-third of 1 percent of all waste produced in the United States and that attention should focus on recycling of all consumer goods.
Joseph Doss, the association president, described bottled water as "healthy, safe and convenient."
O'Neil said he once drank bottled water a lot because it was easier than searching for a fountain. Now he uses a permanent container to carry water.
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