Bottled water's features misrepresented

By Marc Daubitz

Greg Karp makes some blanket statements (Oct. 1 Gazette) that do not reflect the use and need of bottled water in the Cedar Rapids area.

First and foremost, Karp makes a claim that tap water is safer than bottled water. Where is his research? When municipal and city water utilities make the claim that their water is safer due to the perception of stronger oversight by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), they are misleading the public.

Wherever the product comes from, the filtration process of the bottled water should not be dismissed or discounted. For example, area Culligan dealers are independently owned individual franchisees are responsible for their own product. All of their water goes through the reverse osmosis filtration process, which eliminates up to 99.9 percent of impurities and contaminants despite the source. Furthermore, the water must meet the standards approved and enforced by The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and also the IBWA, International Bottled Water Association.

Perhaps most importantly, bottled water plays a crucial role in disaster relief, since it is safely packaged and potable. Consider the widespread flood damage Eastern Iowa endured.

Karp also advocates the use of public drinking fountains which dispense water for free. Today we live in an era of heightened concern over the spread of infectious disease such as H1N1 flu, when schools close to prevent children from coughing on others, and bottles of hand sanitizer are present in public buildings. I, as a parent, will not have my children drink from or share an unsanitary public fountain

Before you ban the bottle and run to the tap, keep a few things in mind.

l The Associated Press reported earlier this year there are 271 million pounds of pharmaceuticals throughout the country's municipal water systems. These are unregulated compounds. Quite simply, modern chemistry is outrunning the utilities' technology.

l The health limits and legal limits provided by the 1974 Safe Drinking Water Act are often different, with the legal limit at a much higher threshold than the health limit.

l Water utilities don't have to include every contaminant in their water.

l Check how your tap water stacked up in one of the most intensive tap water studies ever done by the third-party Environmental Working Group's Tap Water Database. According to their research, 140 contaminants with no enforceable regulation are attacking your tap.

Residents cannot pick which utility serves their home, but they can choose a consumer water supplier that can ensure its quality.

Marc Daubitz is president of Culligan of Marion.