Disadvantages of Drinking Mineral Water

While there are some advantages of drinking mineral water, there are also quite a few disadvantages. In many countries, mineral water is not regulated at all, and in the United States, it is not regulated in many states.  Therefore, unless there is specific content listed on the bottle, you will not know what is actually in the water.   

Tests of more than 1,000 bottles of 103 brands of bottled water commissioned by the Natural Resources Defense Council and performed by three independent labs in 1999 revealed that 33% of the bottled waters tested contained significant contamination in at least one test, and 20% contained synthetic organic chemicals.  

Bottled water is regulated as a food product by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA has established some regulations specifically for bottled water, including standard of identity regulations (i.e., types of bottled water, such as spring water and mineral water) and standard of quality regulations (i.e., allowable maximum levels of chemical, physical, microbial and radiological contaminants).
(Source: http://www.realmama.org/archives-summer-2007/bottled-water.php) 

By comparison, tap water (except that from private well sources, which are not regulated) is regulated more stringently by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), whose mission is to protect human health and the environment. The EPA sets water quality standards for tap water including for pesticides, chlorine, bromine, arsenic, fluoride, lead, and the microbes E. Coli and Cryptosporidium. (Source: http://www.realmama.org/archives-summer-2007/bottled-water.php)

To compare the stringency of federal regulations of bottled water and “big city” tap water, note the following:

• City tap water must be tested 100 or more times a month; bottled water plants must test for coliform bacteria once a week.
• City tap water must meet standards for certain important toxic or cancer-causing chemicals such as phthalate (a chemical that can leach from plastic, including plastic bottles); bottled water is exempt from regulation regarding these chemicals.
• Cities generally must test at least once a quarter for many chemical contaminants; bottled water manufactures generally must test only annually.
• Tap water test results and notices of violations must be reported to state or federal officials; there is no mandatory reporting for bottled water manufacturers.
• City water systems must issue annual “right-to-know” reports telling consumers what is in their water; bottled water manufacturers are not subject to such annual consumer reports. (Source: http://www.realmama.org/archives-summer-2007/bottled-water.php)