Bottled Water – A Great Idea (for some!)

Next to selling air, bottled water has to be the best idea to come along at the last half of the 20th century! Best that is for the folks selling it but not perhaps so much for the rest of us. A typical 8-ounce bottle sells for $1.00. There are 128 ounces or 16 bottles in a gallon. Sixteen dollars for a gallon of water is no bargain unless you are in the middle of Death Valley or are dealing with an emergency.

Bottled water is often municipal water that has received some additional filtration or treatment. The additional treatment is similar to home water treatment systems offer and the filtration is pretty much the same as the filter on your refrigerator or in the filtered water pitcher in the fridge. The “natural sources” some bottlers claim are often nothing more than a well. Granted there are some city water supplies with “funky” water – moldy odors, excess chlorine, or old metal pipe taste. Home water treatment or filtration systems are perfect for those folks. For the record, no one wants to drink “pure water”. Distilled or de-ionized water is not pure H2O. 100% H2O is a highly aggressive chemical that would leachmost of the minerals from your body in short order.

So, in addition to questionable quality and incredible cost, bottled water leaves us with a legacy for generations. Each year billions of bottles equal to millions of tons of plastic enter our environment. The particular plastics used for bottled water take decades to biodegrade and could be around a hundred years from now. Personally, I am thinking of building my next house out of them!   So next time you are out and about and get thirsty look for a water fountain or take a swig from your own stainless or glass water bottle. And remember, beer is mostly water too! By the way, I am selling atmospheric air – ten breaths for a dollar. For more information about MyEnvironmentalConsultant.com, visit us at the Better Living Show, March 26-28, Booth #917.

About the Author

Bill Renfroe is a master level certified hazardous materials manager (CHMM).  He has degrees in chemical engineering and chemistry. He has worked for the EPA, the Corps of Engineers, and Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.  Bill was the EH&S Manager for a large semiconductor manufacturer in the NW.  He was a founding member of the Oregon Association of Environmental Professionals. Bill has over 30 years experience in the environmental arena with more than 10 years of environmental consulting in Oregon and SW Washington.  He is the founder of an environmental consulting business called MyEnvironmentalConsultant.com