Erianne Netherwood-Schwesig tries not to drink tap water. She prefers bottled water because she thinks it's better for her health - even though it costs more.
"It's handy to have (bottled water) right in your room," said Netherwood-Schwesig, a freshman in The College of Arts and Sciences. "It's cleaner, and worth the cost when you buy it in bulk."
With the rising popularity of bottled water, tap water has lost some of its credibility among water connoisseurs. Yet while bottled water may be more posh than its tap water counterpart, it may not be as clean - despite the beliefs of those who swear by the bottle.
According to the National Resources Defense Council, pollution and out-of-date plumbing may be responsible for delivering unhealthy drinking water to residents. In a 2003 report, the NRDC tested the water quality of 19 major cities and found that many cities have deteriorating water sources. Trace elements of arsenic, lead, pesticides and rocket fuel were found in some of these sources.
"Most Americans take it for granted that their tap water is pure and their water infrastructure is safe," said Erik Olson, the report's principal author. "Our report shows that they shouldn't."
Prevalent water-based diseases, such as Guinea worm and schistosomiasis, ravage millions of people each year. Rarely, though, do they infect American tap water drinkers. Instead, most Americans are provided with clean, highly refined tap water.
"Generally tap water in the U.S. is quite safe," said Vicki Friedman, spokesperson for Brita Products Company. "When the water leaves the treatment plant, it is in very good shape. When it reaches the municipality, though, it often picks up lead and other sediments through the pipes."
Tony Geiss, deputy director of Onondaga County Water Authority, said that Syracuse-area tap water goes through a process of coagulation, filtration and disinfection.
"The plant water is very good," he said. "We have very strict criteria to maintain."
Bottled water manufacturers have capitalized on the belief that tap water is below consumption standards and use ingenious public relations campaigns to impair the public's view of tap water. In a survey conducted by the American Water Works Association Research Foundation, 35 percent of people surveyed said they drink bottled water because they were worried about the safety of their tap water.
"I like bottled water better," said Adam Krivisky, a freshman acting major. "I watched a '20/20' that said it was cleaner than tap water."
According to an NRDC survey, 54 percent of Americans drink bottled water. Within the last decade, sales of bottled water have tripled, bringing the bottled water industry to a net worth of several billion dollars. The bottled water industry is growing at a rate of eight to 10 percent a year, faster than the rate of any other beverage. There are over 1,000 brands of bottled water, and sales dictate that more are on the way.
This success, however, is surprising given that tap water comes at a much lower cost. It costs 240 to 10,000 times as much to purchase a gallon of bottled water than it does to purchase a gallon of tap water.
The ideal of pure bottled water, however, appears to be nonexistent. In a test conducted by the NRDC, many popular bottled water brands were found to contain levels of contaminants comparable to tap water. Some of the contamination was brought on by the use of plastic bottles, which transfer chemicals to the drinking water.
Aquafina, a division of Pepsi, tested positive for elements of chloroform and other contaminants consistently found in tap water. Other popular brands, such as Poland Spring and Dannon, were also reported to have alien particles in their water.
Bottled water may be perceived as cleaner than tap water, but the standards by which bottled water is graded are much lower. Tap water is tested by the Environmental Protection Agency, while the Food and Drug Administration screens bottled water. While both forms of water are scrutinized, the FDA's tests are not nearly as rigorous as those of the EPA.
"Bottled water may not even be as safe as tap water." said Sarah Short, professor of nutrition at Syracuse University. "In one study they found that one-fourth of bottled water had 10 times the bacterial count of tap water."
Even if bottled water violates the standards of the FDA, manufacturers can still offer their product to consumers. They only need label their bottles with warnings of "excessive chemical substances" in the product.
Bottled water manufacturers have many opportunities to avoid legislation concerning quality of water, yet innumerable people still opt to purchase their water.
"It's the cool thing to do, lugging bottled water around." Short said. "It's more convenient."
Bottled water drinkers often subject themselves to further dangers by refilling their bottles repeatedly. Some tests indicate that this frequent use of plastic bottles can be unhealthy. A University of Calgary study shows that people who reuse plastic bottles for more than a week - over 88 percent of the population - are risking higher levels of bacteria in their water.
Still, the misconceptions run rampant among those who stick by the bottled water industry.
"I prefer bottled water to the tap water here," said Kara Kuncik, sophomore accounting major. "It's just gross. Bottled water tastes better. It's cleaner. I'm really against the water here."
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