Water Torture
by Christine Lepisto, Berlin 
on 03.19.05
Water, being the single most important thing on earth, is an issue Treehugger gladly discusses. And the provocative comments raised recently in response to an article on bubbly water--about the evil forces dosing us with chemicals against our wills and the vile taste of some tap water—has motivated us to begin a series on the subject.
Treehuggers want to drive the success of sustainable products by personal choices, but what a choice: municipal or well water of questionable taste and chemical quality versus disposing of the bottles from 153 billion liters of water sold annually according to the International Council of Bottled Water Associations. So how do you make the sustainable choice?
Or perhaps the better question is, why should we have to make this choice since our tax dollars are paying for clean, tasty water? Would you pay for a firedepartment that doesn't put fires out completely or a police department that only patrols during daylight? No, you would rightly demand better service. Why shouldn't the same be true for tap water?
Of course, it isn't quite as simple as that. Once merely a necessity of life, water is now a lifestyle choice in much of the world. The hippest restaurants have “water sommelieres”. The profit margin is sufficient to spur free-market frenzy, for example entrepreneurs seeking capital so drinking water for the US and Canada can be imported from Armenia? Nonetheless, water from the tap remains the cost-effective, environmentally sound choice. A recent poll of Americans (conducted jointly by both Democrats and Republicans) reports that 67% prefer government spending to guarantee clean water over tax cuts.
To help you make the best choices, Treehugger will give you the facts and open a forum for opinions. This series will address whether your water is safe to drink, recognize those towns and cities that are going the extra mile to give their citizens good drinking water, look at the best products for making your water better, and ask whether some bottled waters are more treehugger than others, for those times when you need portable or want the champagne of waters for that special occasion.
So let’s start today with the easiest of choices: if the water is good, drink it. Treehugger therefore congratulates the best of the best, the winners of the awards at the largest and longest running water tasting competition in the world:
In the category of Municipal Water:
Best in the World Gold: Town of Gibsons, BC, Canada
Best in the United States: Daytona Beach, FL
Silver: Putaruru, New Zealand
Bronze: Tie--Rice Lake, WI & Metropolitian Water District of Southern CA
4th: Washington County, VA
5th: Chilliwack, BC, Can
For winners in other categories and previous years, just follow the link above. [by ©C. Lepisto, 2005]
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I'm happy to bottle up some tap water for some folks. According to this survey, in 2004 San Francisco, CA's municipal water was ranked #4 in the world.
Properly aerated, the water coming from my tap tastes far better than anything I've had from a bottle. Unless I put it in the bottle in the first place.
Actually that's not such a bad idea. The city should just bottle the stuff and put it in markets; SF Tap. I can see the marketing campaign now...
Am I supposed to let Chicago tap water aerate? Nobody ever told me to. =[
A lot of people think bottled tastes better, including my wife. The only time I would agree with this is when comparing well-water from the tap. That sulfur smell is just too much to want to drink in, let along wash your hands, body, dishes, and everything else with knarly, well-water.
What about the on-tap filters like our Pure filter? One filer lasts over 6 months, uses water from the tap and little recycling?
Kelly
The sulfer smell from tap water is most commonly the result of iron reducing bacteria that live in the pipes and at the well head. These guys release H2S (the smell) and can create disgusting black flecks and plaque build up inside your plumbing. When I lived in a place with that problem I'd wait until a trip out of town was planned, turn off the well pump, drain the lines, and dump two galons of laundry chlorine down an upstairs water line. On our return I'd fire up the well andrun the water for a half hour. The smell and flecks stayed away for up to 6 months.
Actually at one time you did have to pay the Fire Department to put out fires. That was until it became a public service of cities. Why do you think that companies are lobbying the government to privatize everything that the government once ran? Because they can't make off services that are controlled by the community. Once money is involved it is all about the bottom dollar. There are lots of lovely examples of how well companies have run water supplies (NOT).
Hmm... I'm surprised that my city of Ames, Iowa was missing from the list. I've never had better tasting water and have frequently heard that we were rated as having the "3rd best tasting," but I can't find a source now. I do know, however, that Barilla pasta picked our city for a new plant based on the fact that our great tasting water would be noticed in a product in which water is one of the only ingredients used in production. When I had a roommate who brought in his Brita filter, I told him to send it back home because it would be wasted here.
We're in a froth of blaming our water utilities and now corporations for bad water. Yet I think most of us know where bad water comes from: Us.
Think of everything that gets poured down the drain. Think of what we buy that is made with polluting industrial chemicals and loads of water. Think about how we dispose of solid waste and wastewater.
There are plenty of good and bad water/wastewater utilities run by both municipalities and by contracted private firms.
We need to install metal or slate roofs and rainbarrels and cisterns with filtration and disinfection (if used indoors). We need to pay more for water treatment, including non-chlorine disinfection. We need to keep blackwater (toilets) separate from the rest of the mix. We need to educate the public and industry better about low-toxic cleansers. We need to couple animal production facilities with forests and tree plantations growing valuable fiber. We need to keep our bottled water local and reuse the containers.
Until then, folks, balance out your complaints.