The 21st century has become the age of bottled water. Although most Americans have access to clean, safe drinking water from their own sinks, millions no longer trust the taps.
Instead, under the influence of advertising from bottled water companies, they are reaching for plastic bottles. This phenomenon is the subject of Bottled and Sold, a new book by Peter H. Gleick, the president of the Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment and Security. [1]
Gleick praises America’s solid tap water system and seeks to expose the bottled water industry’s demonization of tap water. He finds that bottled water is no healthier or safer than water from most tap systems, and it generates an unconscionable amount of plastic waste. In an interview with ABC’s Good Morning America [2], Gleick cites America’s fear of the tap, negative advertising by bottled water companies, and a perceived taste difference as reasons Americans have embraced bottled water.
RCAP questions the claims made by bottled water companies and has long stood for clean, safe drinking water that is available from taps. “RCAP works with local residents, utility staff and elected officials to ensure that the water from your tap is not only affordable but meets all state and federal drinking water quality regulations,” says Robert Stewart, RCAP executive director.
The most recent issue of RCAP’s magazine, Rural Matters [3], investigates another offense by the bottled water companies: stripping local communities of their water resources through the establishment of bottling plants.
In the article, “Sucked Dry: Defending rural water resources from water-bottling giants,” [4] Wenonah Hauter of Food and Water Watch [5] highlights the struggles of rural communities to protect their water from the insatiable hands of bottling companies.
Gleick’s solution to get American consumers off bottled water? Restore America’s faith in tap water by ensuring water systems are monitored and maintained. RCAP is committed to this objective by helping rural communities create safe, sustainable water utility solutions.