From today’s b, the paper

Americans can get their water practically for free from a faucet — yet we can’t seem to get enough of it bottled.

As soda sales have flattened, the U.S. is working up a thirst for bottled water, according to a recent report. Last year, Americans consumed 8.8 billion gallons of bottled water, a 6.9 increase compared with last year, according to Beverage Marketing, which provides industry data. The dollar sales are rising even faster — up 7.8 percent, to $11.7 billion.

What’s going on? Mainly, an increased dedication to a healthy lifestyle, according to the study.
Consumers are also going gaga over specialty waters such as vitaminwater, Propel and smartwater.

At the same time, some governments, schools and churches are joining environmental groups in promoting tap water over bottled.
For a product as simple as water, the choices are increasingly complicated.

“Some people would argue it’s a good thing, the idea of so many different versions out there,” said Rosellina Ferraro, an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Maryland-College Park.

Ferraro, who studies consumer behavior, said there’s a convenience factor when choosing bottled water instead of tap.
“Sure, you can pour your own water at home, but it’s easier if you buy it at the store,” she said.

Add in recent reports questioning the safety of tap water, and bottled water sales will probably continue to rise, she said. Last month, an Associated Press investigation uncovered a mix of minute levels of pharmaceuticals, including mood stabilizers and sex hormones, in the drinking water supplies of 41 million Americans. The story did not test Baltimore’s water, and the Baltimore Department of Public Works — which provides 265 million gallons of water daily — did not wish to comment on this story.

Now, environmental advocates are pushing back against bottled water and the waste it produces.

Janet Larsen, the research director for Washington-based Earth Policy Institute, said many consumers still do not recycle bottles. Just manufacturing the 29 billion plastic water bottles used in the U.S. each year requires the equivalent of more than 17 million barrels of crude oil, according to the institute; consider estimates of pumping and processing, transportation and refrigeration, and the annual fossil fuel footprint is equivalent to over 50 million barrels of oil.

There is also a growing anti-bottled water movement across the country and abroad, Larsen said. A 2007 U.S. Conference of Mayors gathering passed a resolution to closely examine bottled water’s environmental impact. San Francisco banned city departments from buying bottled waters last year.
The irony, Larsen said, is that as bottled sales climb, the difference between bottled and tap water may not be as significant as generally thought.
“When you look at bottled and tap water, it’s basically the same thing,” Larsen said. “Pepsi [which makes Aquafina] recently made an announcement that it will put on its labels that it comes from a public water source or they write PWS. That means it’s just processed tap water.”

Jordan Bartel is an assistant editor at b. Contact him at jordan@bthesite.com

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