The Quality of Drinking Water and its Impact on Human Health
There are only few things that tie us directly to the natural environment; one such thing is the water that we drink daily. Water is one of the most valuable natural resources and we cannot live without it. I personally never thought much of the importance of water in our daily life, till about a three years ago when my mother was diagnosed with final stage of colon cancer. My father, a nature lover all his life, through out every trip made to Romania, would literally drag me out of the house in the early morning hours and have me go with him in a nearby forest to get spring water. He believed that this infinite spring water source was the cure for my mother disease. Therefore, when I needed to choose a topic for my research, the quality of drinking water and its impact on human health is what came to mind. Simply because I felt it is something we all seem to overlook, even though every day we are all dependent on the daily water intake and we do require its need of purity, free of any contaminants, for a good hydration and health.
Because water is of great significance and since it is used for drinking and in preparing our daily food; I began to realize that in today’s world with all the environmental changes, there are a lot unanswered questions about the type of water that we drink. The dilemma lies between: tap water, bottled water or filtered water; and the question are: which one to choose? And how is one
Water is an important source in this world and it is a source that all of us humans need. Without water we wouldn’t be living today. Water comes in many different ways but the most common and the most talked about topic is, Bottled Water or Tap Water? There are many debates on which type of water is safer, better in taste, and what is more convenient. The question is usually what tastes better. I read in the article “is tap water as safe as bottled water?” “Tap water and bottled water are generally comparable in terms of safety. So the choice of tap or bottled is mostly a matter of personal preference.” (Zeratsky) I completely agree with this statement. Everyone has his or her own opinions.
Seventy percent of the human body is comprised of water. This makes drinking water quality vital. The EPA estimates the average adult consumes 1.2 liters daily or 115 gallons of community (tap) water daily while the average consumption of bottled water per capita in the U.S. is in excess of 30.8 gallons per year and is expected to continue to increase according to the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) and the Beverage Marketing Association’s 2013 report. Bottled water costs anywhere from 240 to 10,000 times more per gallon than the average cost of tap, but people’s perception that bottled water is purer, safer or healthier is driven, in part, by strong bottled water marketing campaigns that focus on news reports about crises that involve municipal water supplies. (NRDC, “Bottled Water Pure Drink or Pure Hype”) The sources for both tap and bottled waters as well as additives to either enrich or neutralize contents of water determine the mineral and chemical composition of drinking water. Is bottled water really any purer or healthier than local tap water?
Water is an essential part to human life. We as humans need around eight to twelve cups per day to make up for the fact that throughout normal functions such as breathing and sweating we lose an average of ten cups per day. To make sure that we are healthy and everything runs properly, we must make sure we drink the right amount of water (msnbc.com, 2004). The one question when thinking about water is what type of water will you drink? The biggest controversy is bottled water vs. tap water. Many people in the world today are switching from drinking tap water to drinking bottled water. The number of people who drink bottled water has been rising over the past few decades and by an average of 7% per year. A
From helping the daily jogger stay hydrated during a run to that mom and family trying to stay hydrated at the amusement park, bottled water has had a lot of good to it. However do those goods outweigh the bad? In “Bottled Water: Friend or Foe?” by Christopher Castillo, Diana Goettsch, Angela Reid, and Catherine Sterling argue bottled water are our worst enemy, reasons being the bottle itself has harming chemicals within it which we are drinking, bottled water damages our environment, and lastly we are spending more on bottled water when we have the same water coming from our sinks.
The controversy of bottled water verse tap water can be argued on both sides. However, tap water is the better alternative in the long run. Some may say there is a distinct taste difference between the two, yet most can't tell. In a college classroom, a group of students completed an experiment where they tasted a variety of waters: Great Value, Zephyrhills, and tap water. Most students guessed incorrectly, not tasting a difference (Combass). Although people have concerns with tap water, it is the most convenient. Not only is tap water cheaper, it is the safest source that positively impacts our environment.
A lot of people around the world do not have a the choice between tap or bottled water.
“Mom can you grab me a bottle of water for my game?” Did you ever think that grabbing a bottle of water may put you in danger? A latest report by NRDC, tested 1,000 bottles of water and 103 brands. They found out that ⅓ of them had chemicals or bacteria in them. Now that I have read a couple articles I now know that tap water is safer to drink than bottled water. The first reason is that the company’s making the bottles are wasting plastic. Also if we use water from our tap, it will be free instead of buying new bottles every time we run out. If you read my essay you will know why I think tap water is better.
Tap water and bottled water are used in peoples lives daily. Yet, barely anybody seems to care for the difference between the two. The quality, price, accessibility and many other aspects areover looked in the decision for tap or bottled water. Another topic that seems to be shoved under the rug is the safety of tap water in the United States. But from investigative information it proves that there is no problem with drinking tap water in the United States.
Bottled water is one of products popularly consumed back to a few decades. Result from the production of bottled water, people likely prefer to drink bottled water than tap water while some researches find out the fact that water in bottle are not as safe as water provided by state companies. Why people choose to drink bottled water and whether bottled water is pure as advertisement are the crucial concerns, together with the effect of bottled water on human being’s health and the natural environment.
First off, tap water is safer than bottled water by any mean. According to "The Truth About Tap" by Andrew Postman. Postman states, "Tap water in big cities must be disinfected, filtered, and removed of pathogens … viruses. Bottle water does not have to be." In other words, there are billions of bottled water companies that are shipping, selling, and letting customers consume their product that may have never been examined by specialist. If the people just want ha glass of water. Just go out and buy a filter; as a result, leading to the perfect glass of water.
Water bottles are a staple in today’s society. In his article, “Costly water: Bottled and Sold: The History Behind Our Obsession with Bottled Water,” author Martin W. Lewis quotes Peter H. Gleick when he says that, “Consumers buy bottled water for four main reasons: safety, taste, style, and convenience,” and he’s absolutely right (Par. 9). Bottled water is cleaner, healthier, and more convenient than tap water. More people are more apt to grab a bottle of water on the go, rather than fill a reusable bottle from the sink. It’s just easy. At least, that’s what we are led to believe. Bottled water is constantly in battle with its not-so-lavish counterpart, tap water. Some will even argue that the benefits of bottled water alone outweigh the cost. They, however, do not. The fact is, water bottles have plagued society for years and have become a growing menace to our environment and our people.
Americans utilize a great deal of water, in fact, the average American uses 90 gallons a day (Henshaw). So it is not surprising America has one of the cleanest water reserves in the world (“Water Quality”). A surprising statistic, however, is one-third of the American population drinks bottled water on a regular basis when the majority has clean drinking water at home (Olsen). This might be due to the fact that the bottled water industry has promoted itself as a healthier and more portable alternative to tap water. However, the truth is startling as bottled water is only a misleading, expensive, and dangerous gimmick to bring in revenue for large companies.
In these days, people are concerned about what they drink every day and they always pick the right things to drink. People can find many sources of water in everywhere nowadays and they always prefer bottled water for being purified. They abundant tap water because they think that bottled water is much healthier. Companies such as Pepsi and Coca-Cola makes their bottled water looks healthier in their advertisements to get people attentions when they are watching. People have their reasons to choose bottled water over tap water just because of the advertisements that have being featured in televisions with a temptation. Tap water has been avoided when the bottled water can be found almost everywhere. Bottled water is not what people think it
Access to clean water is a basic human right and yet people around the world don’t have that right and they struggle to survive without it. The many uses of clean and potable water include water for drinking to cooking other daily purpose. It is reported that over 1.1 billion people lack access to an improved water resource and three million individuals, and majority of them children, suffer and die from water-related disease. The need to improve water quality and providing clean water should be major project for developed countries like the US and so called “well developed countries”.
Few resources are essential to human survival. Access to clean water is the most critical of all. Water is a vital resource responsible for sustaining all life on earth. However, clean water is in short supply, but in high demand in all parts of the world. It is thought that most Americans have access to safe, affordable, clean water right from their taps. However, the media is uncovering the true nature of America’s deteriorating water situation. Americans have reason to be seriously concerned about the state of their drinking water. So what really is on tap in America?