Have you taken a look at the label on your ever-present spring water bottle lately? It probably says something like “mountain spring water”. Now take a closer look at the full-color drawing that also adorns the label, in this case, a bottle of Arrowhead spring water. (If it’s not Arrowhead in your area, it will be Ozarka or Deer Park, Ice Mountain, or Poland Spring, as they are all owned by Nestle Waters.)
Isn’t it a peaceful scene? A beautiful blue sky with fluffy white clouds, lush evergreens, and a silvery blue mountain with a stream of cool clear water gushing out of it. I guess the spring the water comes from is somewhere around that virtual stream.
All of the bottled spring waters seem to display lovely mountains and landscapes, along with clear spring water. These images are there for a reason. Companies are trying to create a picture in their mind of spring water coming from a beautiful, pristine mountain, when in fact it comes from a hole in the ground.
That is not to say that spring water is not good to drink, because it certainly is, at least it is better than tap water! But it’s only fair that you know exactly where it comes from. It does not come from a remote mountain spring in a picturesque setting as the advertisements would have you believe. When a water company locates a water source, a new bottling plant is built at the source of the water. This is supposed to help reduce water pollution, but it does not prevent it from happening.
Pollution in spring water is something that not many people know about. Perhaps they are too busy sacrificing the nemesis of their chosen bottled water, which is purified water. We will return to the problem of contamination in a moment, but for now, let’s see what purified bottled water is.
Purified water is simply sold as bottled water. Often this water is tap or municipal water that has been treated with reverse osmosis, distillation, or deionization to remove bacteria or dissolved solids. This additional processing, in addition to what the municipality’s water department has already done to process and purify the water, still allows the water to retain some of its natural flavor, which is why many people prefer it to spring water. An estimated 25 percent of all bottled water comes from a municipal supply.
When you buy bottled spring water, you expect a product that is a little different than purified municipal water. They make you believe that spring water is superior, and the labels on this water generally go out of their way to nurture your belief with those images we talked about earlier. But these labels are misleading. Recently, two reputable brands of what was supposedly spring water were questioned for advertising what had been discovered to be municipal water as spring water. Their labels have been changed to reflect this, but many people were fooled for a long time.
The only way a bottled water can be labeled spring water is if it comes from a spring. Now, you probably read that and thought, “Well, of course!” But the whole problem is that spring! Spring water has to flow naturally to the surface of the earth from a source that is below the ground. The water must be obtained directly from this spring or from a “well” that must be as close as possible to where the water comes from naturally. If a pump is used to draw the water, or any machine that uses force from outside the spring, then the water that is pumped has to be exactly the same as the water that flows naturally in composition and quality. .
Sounds good right? Well, that hole can easily get contaminated, as can the place where the spring comes out of the ground. And since the Food and Drug Administration rules allow bottled spring water to have some forms of contamination, there isn’t much that can be done. These contaminants include E. coli or fecal coliforms, which are two bacteria that target the inclusion of fecal matter in the water. Tap water rules prohibit any contamination with these bacteria. Since purified bottled water is made from tap water, it stands to reason that this type of bottled water would be much safer and better tasting than spring water.
Bottled water does not need to be tested for parasites known as cryptosporidium and giardia. Cryptosporidium is a type of protozoan that can cause diarrhea. In healthy people, the infection it causes does not last long, but in children and people with compromised immune systems, it can become quite serious and reject all medical attempts to stop it.
Giardia is often found in undrinkable water. In fact, water is the main source of this infection.
Giardia can cause a person to bloat, feel nauseous, watery diarrhea, and abdominal cramps. You can also lose up to ten percent of your body weight when infected with this parasite. It takes two to six weeks for the infection to get better, but it has been known to develop into chronic giardia and last for months and years.
The chance that bottled spring water has contaminants and parasites, or both, is small, but it’s there. Purified water is much safer for you and your family if you are concerned about the cleanliness of the water you drink.