Ottawa insight: Dangers inside bottled water

by Paul Dewar

While watching the CBC News last February, I heard David Suzuki say, “Canadians wanting to do something about the environment can start by drinking tap water”. His words reminded me of my long-standing suspicion that when it came to bottled water, something’s fishy.

After looking deeper into this issue, I began working with environmental and civil society groups to introduce legislation that would regulate bottled water due to the risk it poses to public health and to our environment.

Recently, I attended a conference on issues surrounding bottled water, where problems ranging from environmental and health impacts to political and social issues were discussed. The Polaris Institute’s Inside the Bottle campaign reported that arsenic, mercury and bromide contamination has been found in bottled water, posing a serious risk to public health.

In addition, the toxins in these bottles used for water were found to contain highly dangerous toxic chemicals and contaminants which are released into the air and water when these bottles are manufactured. When you consider the green house gases emitted during the production, transportation and sale of these products, and then factor in the industry’s opposition to tougher recycling rules, it becomes crystal clear that we are in an environmental mess.

There is also massive price gouging during the sale of these products. For example, bottled water is 240 to 10,000 times more expensive than tap water, even though more than 25 per cent of bottled water comes from municipal tap water systems.

Nestlé’s Pure Life brand contains tap water from Guelph, Coca-Cola’s Dasani has tap water from Brampton, and Aquafina contains Mississauga tap water. For these companies to take public water at a low cost and sell it for more than the price of gasoline is unconscionable.

Even though marketing companies would have us believe that bottled water is cleaner than tap water, bottled water quality standards are regulated by the Canada Food Inspection Agency, whose regulations are not as strict as the Canada Water Quality Guidelines that oversee the quality of public water.

There are also significant long-term concerns that need to be addressed. The bottled water industry’s main competition is the public water system, which is why the marketing strategies around these products seek to undermine people’s confidence in their public water systems. The erosion of public confidence paves the way for higher prices and corporate control of water resources. We are now on a dangerous path towards water privatization.

There are a number of valuable proposals made by water activist allies in the community, including (but not limited to), banning of bottled water in city facilities, rebuilding public fountains, and challenging corporate exclusivity contracts with university administrations.

To do my part, I had introduced a motion to the House of Commons that says “the government should commit to regulating the sale and use of bottled water due to the risks posed to public health and the environment”. This is similar to the idea I advocated regarding the ban of inefficient light bulbs, a policy adopted by the government. I encourage you to stay informed and get involved with the many organizations that are working on this important issue.

About the writer:

Paul Dewar is a Member of Parliament and writer for Ottawa's Centretown.net. LINK

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