Bottled Tap Water


I always thought people who buy bottled water crazy.


SCIENCE NEWS
July 27, 2007
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?alias=aquafina-labels-to-spell&chanID=sa003&modsrc=reuters
Aquafina labels to spell out source: tap water


Aquafina labels to spell out source: tap water Water drips from a
tap at a home in Manchester, northern England, March 27, 2006. PepsiCo
Inc. will spell out that its Aquafina bottled water is made with tap
water, a concession to the growing environmental and political
opposition to the bottled water industry. REUTERS/Phil Noble
By Martinne Geller

NEW YORK (Reuters) - PepsiCo Inc. will spell out that its Aquafina
bottled water is made with tap water, a concession to the growing
environmental and political opposition to the bottled water industry.

According to Corporate Accountability International, a U.S. watchdog
group, the world's No. 2 beverage company will include the words
"Public Water Source" on Aquafina labels.

"If this helps clarify the fact that the water originates from public
sources, then it's a reasonable thing to do," said Michelle Naughton,
a Pepsi-Cola North America spokeswoman.


Pepsi Chief Executive Indra Nooyi told Reuters earlier this week the
company was considering such a move.

Pepsi's Aquafina and Coca-Cola Co's Dasani are both made from purified
water sourced from public reservoirs, as opposed to Danone's Evian or
Nestle's Poland Spring, so-called "spring waters," shipped from
specific locations the companies say have notably clean water.

Coca-Cola Co. told Reuters it will start posting online information
about the quality control testing it performs on Dasani by the end of
summer or early fall.

"Concerns about the bottled-water industry, and increasing corporate
control of water, are growing across the country," said Gigi Kellett,
director of the "Think Outside the Bottle" campaign, which aims to
encourage people to drink tap water.

San Francisco's mayor banned city employees from using city funds to
buy bottled water when tap water is available. Ann Arbor, Michigan
passed a resolution banning commercially bottled water at city events
and Salt Lake City, Utah asked department heads to eliminate bottled
water.

Critics charge the bottled water industry adds plastic to landfills,
uses too much energy by producing and shipping bottles across the
world and undermines confidence in the safety and cleanliness of
public water supplies, all while much of the world's population is
without access to clean water.

But industry observers said such opposition is unlikely to drain U.S.
sales of bottled water, which reached 2.6 billion cases in 2006,
according to Beverage Digest. The industry newsletter estimated that
U.S. consumers spent about $15 billion on bottled water last year.

"Consumers have an affection for bottled water. It's not an issue of
taste or health, it's about convenience," the newsletter's publisher,
John Sicher, said. "Try walking up (New York City's) Third Avenue on a
hot day and getting a glass of tap water."

Dave Kolpak, a portfolio manager at Victory Capital Management, said
the environmental objections will have little impact on the bottom
line for either Pepsi or Coke, though he admitted it could slow the
market's growth rate.

"Pepsi and Coke do not make a lot of profit" on bottled water, said
Kolpak, adding that people may talk about the issue, but will likely
continue buying some bottled water. Victory Capital owns about 3
million shares of PepsiCo among its $62 billion under management.


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