Tap Water free essay sample

Brands like Aquafina, Evian, and Dasani claim to use sources from deep, pristine pools of spring water, and majestic alpine peaks. When companies claim their water is from pure sources and is of safe quality, millions of people believe that bottled water is the safest water source to drink, while tap water is not. Relevance statement: So when we go to the store lugging around cases of brand name water from â€Å"pristine pools†, is it truly a better choice than your tap water that comes out of the faucet in the kitchen of your very own home? Credibility statement: As a normal person that used to buy bottled water everyday, I decided to be a smart thinker, so I did some research on water quality, and now, I became a smart drinker with tap water . Preview statement: And so today I’m hoping to encourage you all to not waste your money on bottled water anymore because of the quality, the regulations, and the overall prices between bottled water and tap water. We will write a custom essay sample on Tap Water or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page So first, let’s look at the actual difference of quality in bottled and tap water. Consumers have been convinced that bottled is more pure and safe than tap water, but some studies show otherwise. * With slogans like â€Å"So pure, we promise nothing† and â€Å"Purity Guaranteed† from water bottle brands like Aquafina, people are convinced that their water which is bottled, is simply pure, but, is it? * According to Dr. Sarah Janssen, a scientist from the Natural Resources Defense Council, â€Å"70 percent of popular bottled water brands available in shops had high levels of bacteria. Bottled water isnt any safer or purer than what comes out of the tap†¦ In fact, its less well-regulated, and youre more likely to know whats in tap water. † * The Natural Resource Defense Council also held another study tested for hundreds of different chemicals in 38 brands of California bottled water. â€Å"Two samples had arsenic contamination, six had chemical byproducts of chlorination, and six had measurable levels of other toxic chemicals. Several samples violated Californias bottled water standards. The website, www. nrdc. org states â€Å"Some of this marketing is misleading, implying the water comes from pristine sources when it does not. For example, one brand of spring water whose label pictured a lake and mountains, actually came from a well in an industrial facilitys parking lot, near a hazardous waste dump, and periodically was contaminated with industrial chemicals at levels above FDA standards† * Tap Water is thought as to be bad quality, but resea rch and study has shown differently. Furthermore, A group of researchers took five bottles of brand name bottled water and a sample of tap water from a drinking fountain in the middle of New York City and sent them to microbiologist, Aaron Margolin, who said â€Å"There was actually no difference between the tap water and the bottled waters that we evaluated. † * NRDC has researched bottled water extensively and has found that it is â€Å"subject to less rigorous testing and purity standards than those which apply to city tap water. Now that we understand that bottled water is not exactly anymore purer or better than tap water, let’s see how bottled water and tap water rise up to meet certain standards in quality. * Even though both bottled water and tap water are under regulation from organizations, tap water is in the organization with stricter, leading standards. * The Food amp; Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the bottled water products for water quality, while the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ensures the regulation of the quality of public tap water. * When it comes to standards and rules for water regulations, the EPA sets the bar, leaving FDA’s regulations for bottled water behind and trailing. * For instance, â€Å"Generally, over the years, the FDA has adopted EPA standards for tap water as standards for bottled water. * According to www. environment. about. com â€Å"Bottled water is required to be tested less frequently than tap water for bacteria and chemical contaminants, and U. S. Food and Drug Administration bottled water rules allow for some contamination by  E. coli  or  fecal coli form, contrary to EPA tap water rules that prohibit any such contamination. † * The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) states that By law, the FDA Standard of Quality for bottled water must be as stringent as the EPAs standards for public drinking water. † * Thus, the FDA organization (which regulates bottled water) lacks standards that the EPA organization (which regulates bottled water) has. Now that we understand how tap water is either the same or better than bottled water with quality and regulations, let’s see how much we are paying for water in plastic bottles. * With bacteria levels and regulations from bottled water that is either as safe or less safe than tap water, it is shocking to know that buyers end up paying for bottled water that can add up to costly prices, im more ways than one. * Whether buying individual water bottles from the vending machine or lugging big cases of water bottles from the supermarket, far too much money is being spent for water. In comparison to prices of another useful resource, gas, bottled water is as costly. While there are high gasoline prices that can vary around $4. 00 a full gallon for a fossil fuel, a gallon of bottled water from Dasani or Aquafina could cost at least $6. 00. * Charles Fishman, an award-winning investigative journalist, known for his works and study in water, wrote† You can buy a half- liter Evian for $1. 3517 ounces of water imported from France for pocket change. That water seems cheap, but only because we arent paying attention. In San Francisco, the municipal water comes from inside Yosemite National Park. Its so good the EPA doesnt require San Francisco to filter it. If you bought and drank a bottle of Evian, you could refill that bottle once a day for 10 years, 5 months, and 21 days with San Francisco tap water before that water would cost $1. 35. Put another way, if the water we use at home cost what even cheap bottled water costs, our monthly water bills would run $9,000† * Refilling bottled water every day for a year would cost 48 cents, in comparison to $365 for $1 water bottles. Tap water is 700 times cheaper and smarter than bottled water. * Not just with money, but bottled water is tremendously expensive and wasteful, in more ways than one. The Earth’s environment takes a toll by the making of plastic bottles and the disposal of plastic bottles. * The uses of recyclable bottles pay a price to the purity of the water as more harmful substances are in the water. 38 billion American water bottles are thrown into not only landfills in America, but into other countries every yearmore than $1 billion worth of plastic, * The billions and billions of plastic bottles add up and end up being a cause for the effect of environmental harm, thus bottled water brings more problems than tap water. * It is shocking to know that people end up paying costly prices for water that is bottled, and that these plastic bottles end up as environmental problems disposed throughout the world. Now let’s wrap this up. Summary: I hope you all will no longer be mislead by bottled water claims and understand the actual quality, regulations, and prices of bottled water and realize tap water can as good or even better. Audience response statement: Like many advertisements with false claims, we all need to read the fine prints, the back of the labels, and even do research on the products we spend our money on, even bottled water. Closing statement: Our $1. 25 for bottled water may not seem so bad at the time being, but now let’s be a smart thinker, and see what you could have been done as an alternative to be a smart drinker.