Which water, exactly... ?

Justified or not, in order to alleviate their concerns vis-à-vis tap water, many consumers are tempted to rely on various brands of bottled waters which are now widely available.

Here again, unfortunately, perfection is just not possible!

First of all, the actual quality of the liquid in the bottle often has no relation to the image of snow-clad-mountain-top purity touted by slick advertising campaigns. In some cases in fact, the water is so questionable that bottlers have to filtrate it because it can contain traces of fluorine and ozone.

The so-called "spring water" sometimes comes from a water table, or strech of ground water, that may be contaminated by waste from intensive farming. Then, once the water is bottled, it can sit for up to up to 12 months in the bottle before it's consumed.

Some also fear that the chemicals used to manufacture plastic bottles could slowly leak into the water itself. The Canadian Bottled Water Association (CBWA) recommends that the bottles be stored at room temperature in a dark place far from various toxic products (household cleaning products, solvents, gasoline and so on). It also recommends not keeping bottled water more than two years before drinking it.

... With what kind of impact?

Finally, bottled water is anything but "pure" in terms of its environmental impact - an impact some observers describe as a real catastrophe.

A Considerable quantities of energy are needed to pump, process, bottle and transport this water to the consumer. Each year, the bottled water industry, in Canada only, produces more than 1.5 million tons of plastic that is generally not reusable. Once empty, the bottles must be transported and incinerated (unless they end up, whether by mistake or simple negligence, in a landfill...).

This is why many people choose to process their tap water using various filtration processes.

Useful Links:

Questions and Answers on Bottled Water (Health Canada)
Bottled Water basics (EPA)
Types and Treatment of Bottled Water (NSF)