Ask Cathe...about your article on bottled water?!

wastewitch

wastewitch

Cathlete
Cathe,

I have to register my extreme disappointment in the article about tap water vs. bottled water. It is TERRIBLE and full of misinformation about tap water.

Firstly, tap water is tested for nearly 200 different regulated contaminants, plus additional unregulated contaminants, such as sodium, calcium, etc. Tap water is tested for fecal coliform, chlorine, lead, copper, radioactive material...basically everything listed as "yucky" in your article. Not only that, but water utilities are also required by law to report this to their customers annually, in the Consumer Confidence Report.bottled water doesn't have these same requirements.

I am so disappointed that said it was "unfortunate" that we have to drink tap water over bottled water. No, we are fortunate in this country to have some of the best if not the best tap water in the world, at a fraction of what people in other countries pay for it. If we are so "unfortunate" as to be stuck with "only" tap water, what do you suggest as an alternative? That we all drink Evian? Need I remind you that Evian is naive spelled backwards?

Please, please, either pull this poorly written and misleading article from your blog, or at least rewrite it (with actual facts this time), before you post it to your social media sites.

Note: I didn't make any comments about the bottled water portion of the article because I don't work in that industry. Although, there was so much misinformation relative to tap water, I wouldn't expect the rest of the article to be credible, either.

I am happy to provide my contact information if you wish to discuss this further. I will even help you look up the Consumer Confidence Report for your town in New Jersey.

Jennifer Nations
 
wastewitch said:
Cathe,

I have to register my extreme disappointment in the article about tap water vs. bottled water. It is TERRIBLE and full of misinformation about tap water.

Firstly, tap water is tested for nearly 200 different regulated contaminants, plus additional unregulated contaminants, such as sodium, calcium, etc. Tap water is tested for fecal coliform, chlorine, lead, copper, radioactive material...basically everything listed as "yucky" in your article. Not only that, but water utilities are also required by law to report this to their customers annually, in the Consumer Confidence Report.bottled water doesn't have these same requirements.

I am so disappointed that said it was "unfortunate" that we have to drink tap water over bottled water. No, we are fortunate in this country to have some of the best if not the best tap water in the world, at a fraction of what people in other countries pay for it. If we are so "unfortunate" as to be stuck with "only" tap water, what do you suggest as an alternative? That we all drink Evian? Need I remind you that Evian is naive spelled backwards?

Please, please, either pull this poorly written and misleading article from your blog, or at least rewrite it (with actual facts this time), before you post it to your social media sites.

Note: I didn't make any comments about the bottled water portion of the article because I don't work in that industry. Although, there was so much misinformation relative to tap water, I wouldn't expect the rest of the article to be credible, either.

I am happy to provide my contact information if you wish to discuss this further. I will even help you look up the Consumer Confidence Report for your town in New Jersey.

Jennifer Nations
Click to expand...

I really don't know where to start with this Jennifer. But seeing how you were so blunt to Cathe, I guess I will go that route too.

Jennifer Dear--You are the one that is so misled. The fact that you would put your confidence in any thing that the utility districts would tell you in a Consumer Confidence Report is quite frankly--shocking. I read that little report that they publish in my local newspaper annually and am appalled that they can get by with allowing a dog to drink that filthy water much less the people of this county. And because of that very "yucky" stuff in my tap water, I haven't drank tap water in over 20 years. I am fortunate enough to have access to an Artesian Well that has 99.99% pure clean water flowing from it constantly. I stand in line behind lots of other people from the surrounding counties who won't drink tap water either and we fill our containers weekly with this blue gold.

When I first read your remarks, I'll admit my blood pressure went up a few notches at your condescending tone. However, I do realize that you're just another one of those people with blinders on that believe every thing the government tells you. So therefore I know that you don't know any better. My advice would be for you to continue to educate yourself outside of the "official" reports and it will open your eyes to the real reality. And to help you get started here's a link to a very good article I think you should read.
Can Drinking More Spring or Filtered Water Improve Your Health?

P.S. The point of the above article is more about another confirmation on the "yucky" stuff that is found in our water and how the utility districts will reassure us that the ppm/ppb levels are of course at a very "safe" level.
 
Last edited:
I do NOT have blinders on. I work for a water utility and I produce my water utility's consumer confidence report every year. It is not lies. My water utility's drinking water also comes from an artesian aquifer that is 3,000 feet below the land surface. What say you to that? Can you accept that the majority of drinking water in this country is groundwater? Do you understand that spring water and artesian water are also groundwater?

If my tone was condescending, it's because I expect better sourced articles from a health professional like Cathe. I don't read the blog to get the latest health craze information. I also don't expect to substitute information on the blog for medical advice.

From your post, I gather that you still think U.S. drinking water is not safe to drink, and water utilities are lying to their customers. I hope that you will become better informed in the future, but you are free to believe whatever you want.
 
wastewitch said:
Cathe,

I have to register my extreme disappointment in the article about tap water vs. bottled water. It is TERRIBLE and full of misinformation about tap water.

Firstly, tap water is tested for nearly 200 different regulated contaminants, plus additional unregulated contaminants, such as sodium, calcium, etc. Tap water is tested for fecal coliform, chlorine, lead, copper, radioactive material...basically everything listed as "yucky" in your article. Not only that, but water utilities are also required by law to report this to their customers annually, in the Consumer Confidence Report.bottled water doesn't have these same requirements.

I am so disappointed that said it was "unfortunate" that we have to drink tap water over bottled water. No, we are fortunate in this country to have some of the best if not the best tap water in the world, at a fraction of what people in other countries pay for it. If we are so "unfortunate" as to be stuck with "only" tap water, what do you suggest as an alternative? That we all drink Evian? Need I remind you that Evian is naive spelled backwards?

Please, please, either pull this poorly written and misleading article from your blog, or at least rewrite it (with actual facts this time), before you post it to your social media sites.

Note: I didn't make any comments about the bottled water portion of the article because I don't work in that industry. Although, there was so much misinformation relative to tap water, I wouldn't expect the rest of the article to be credible, either.

I am happy to provide my contact information if you wish to discuss this further. I will even help you look up the Consumer Confidence Report for your town in New Jersey.

Jennifer Nations
Click to expand...

The article you're referring to is basically pro tap water which you seem to be a proponent of, but it does list problems with both bottled and tap water. I'm sure you can find studies that say tap water or bottled water is 100% safe and free of any toxins, but you can find just as many that state otherwise. As with most of our articles we have listed our sources:

Medical News Today. “Bottled Water No Purer Than Tap Water”

Science Daily. “BPA Raises Risk for Childhood Asthma, Study Finds”

Breast Cancer Fund. “Bisphenol-A”

I realize you may have a different opinion and you should feel free to state your opinion. But to say an article that is a summary from published and reviewed leading scientific journals and magazines is factually wrong and should be pulled because you have a different perspective is not something we would ever do. If our article is incorrect, then so is Medical News Today's article which we summarized in our newsletter. If you have a different opinion then you should sate it and provide your sources. Always remember science is about always questioning things and never accepting what others say.
 
Last edited:
I wanted to add that the quality of tap water varies dramatically between municipalities and states. I am fortunate to live in an area that has excellent water quality, however I have lived in areas where the tap water was virtually undrinkable. It often depends on how deep the water table is in a given area as well as the degree of local pollution. The water in these other areas that I lived may have been free of water born diseases like coliform and really bad pollutants like lead, but the smell was horrendous. In one municipality, it made it difficult to even shower in it due to the smell (of course you get used to it after awhile). I was in college at the time in this latter area and when I took analytical chemistry we decided to analyze the water for one of our labs. The chlorine and sulfate's were off the chart.

My husband is a plumber and he will tell you that the amount of pollutants in the water is crazy...everything from benzene to birth control pills and other medications can be found in the water supply. If nothing else, it doesn't hurt to have a water purifier on your faucet at home (or you can buy a more expensive, all home one).

Of course, bottled water is bad for the environment...so I try to not buy any of that. ;)
 
I once stayed with someone in the middle of the so cal desert near some indian reservations (he did not live on a reservation though). I think his high school graduating class was like 30 people. Anyways, I remember the tap water at his house had visible sand-like, gritty particles and sedimentation if you let the water “settle” in a clear glass. Not like an inch thick, but there was stuff at the bottom. It could have been perfectly healthy and chock full of desirable minerals, but I found it odd that it had visible “stuff” in it. I still drank it though and it tasted fine.

I find bottled water a huge hassle and bad for the environment (unless you live in a country without "safe" tap water or have funky tasting well water). But, then again, I use a cellphone (could be causing brain cancer) and happily drink/eat from containers made of BPA (also probably slowly killing me). And I usually avoid organic food. I guess I like to live dangerously.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top