I love water. I like it at room temperature, piping hot and
ice cold. I need it to make coffee. I
am one of “those” people who always carries a reusable, washable water bottle
with me as if I’m moments away from succumbing to dehydration. I guess I am afraid
of running out of water, although that has never happened. At least not yet.
I used to buy bottled water almost every day. I didn’t care
what brand it was. I liked the smoothness and tastelessness of bottled water. I felt
empowered when I drank it because I purchased bottled water over sugary soda. I didn’t like diet
soda at the time so drinking bottled water was a big deal for me. Drinking
water is better than soda in terms of calories but is it better than tap water?
Was it worth my money?
No, it wasn’t.
In the United States we have clean drinking water. We
bottled-water drinkers bought ocean front property in Olathe, Kansas. According
to Sizer & Whitney’s textbook, Nutrition Concepts & Controversies,
13th edition (2014), about 7% of U.S. households use bottled water and at a notable price. It costs between 250 to 100,000 times more to use bottled water
than tap water. In 2014, total sales of bottled water reached $13 billion.
How is bottled water different from tap?
Our drinking water comes either from surface sources (from rivers, springs, and snowmelt) or from the ground (from beneath
the earth’s surface). What makes bottled water different is that it might come from
out-of-state and the water might have been disinfected with ozone instead of
chlorine. Ozone makes some bottled water taste distinctly different than tap
water. Basically, that’s it. You get to pay for processing, shipping and, of
course, corporate profits. If you like flavored or carbonated water, you can
pay for that too.
California, the drought, and bottled water
I was born and raised in the Kansas City, Missouri area. It rains there
all year round and it snows in the winter. When there is less precipitation, people
let their grass “go dormant,” as my mother used to say. If there is a shortage of rain, why waste it
on the grass when there are more important uses for water? Maybe it is a
carryover from the days when the Heartland was the breadbasket of the country.
Maybe it is the result of living through tornado seasons and being continuously reminded
of the power and force of nature. Whatever, this is not the prevailing perspective of the
collective conscious of California. I live in San Diego and I am proud to call
this city and the state of California my home. But, prudence, in general, is
not part of our state motto. For example, it took 4 years of an official drought before Governor
Jerry Brown issued state-wide mandates calling for conservation. Here is a link to an article about the executive order
issued by Gov. Brown on 4/1/2015
Here is an image of a California riverbed taken in 2009, at least according to the caption. I cannot help but wonder why it took so long to issue state-wide mandates about water use and restrictions.
By National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
We moved to California last summer. As we drove across the country we talked about water, the ongoing drought and ways
to conserve. This is an issue we never stop talking about. I’m sure if our cats
were people, they’d ask us to shut-up about it already. We do what we can to conserve and recycle
water.
As part of my ongoing conservation efforts, I decided to
purchase bottled water. I hiked downstairs
to the local grocery store to survey my options. I studied the packaging to
find out where the bottled water came from. Disgust, surprise, and disappointment best
describe my response to discovering that the bottled water at my local store all
comes from California. I’m talking about brands like Arrowhead, PureLife, Calistoga,
Crystal Geyser, and generic brands.
 |
By Ivy Main (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons
What
the hell? Can I really conserve water by purchasing and using water from California?
Feeling enraged and clinging to the hope that this was a store-specific issue, I optimistically went to check out other stores in downtown San
Diego. Sadly, I found the same bottled water selection at every store. I know
that bottled water isn’t better than tap water, but I thought it was at least better
than no water at all. I wonder.
In the news
There are 108 licensed water bottling facilities in
California, according to a March 8, 2015 article published on the Desert Sun. Nestlé has 5 of the large facilities that pump and bottle millions and millions
of gallons of water each year under multiple labels including Arrowhead, DeerPark and PureLife.
In California, Nestlé has plants in Sacramento, Livermore,
Los Angeles, Ontario, and Cabazon. According to a Minpress.com article posted
on March 20, 2015, Nestlé’s Sacramento location continues to pump 80 million gallons
of water per year out of Sacramento aquifers during these years of drought.
An environmentalist group called Crunch Nestle
Alliance along with Native American groups and private citizens are actively working
to try to stop the reckless pilfering of the California’s water supply. The group wrote a white paper (White Paper from Essence of Life Project - The Future of Water).
Nestlé is not the only company bottling water in California considering there
are 108 facilities, however, Nestlé may be the biggest offender and has gotten the most
media attention. Other companies with a
presence in California include, but are not limited to, PepsiCo (Aquafina),
Coca-Cola (Dasani), and CG Roxanne (Crystal Geyser and Alpine Spring).
Preliminary data from the Beverage
Marketing Corporation as reported by Ian James in the March 8, 2015 Desert Sun article "Bottling Water Without Scrutiny" indicates
that in 2014 water purchases were up 6.1% in 2014. California sells water to companies at low rates and provides minimal industry oversight or regulation. It’s no mystery why
companies keep putting water into bottles, even during a terrible drought.
Here are a few other news stories covering the drought and concerns about bottled water.
Agriculture
The agricultural focus of California boggles my mind because
most of the state gets little rain, relies on importing water and snow-pack
melt to meet its state-wide water needs. Agriculture uses more water in California than any other industry and right now farmers are suffering. Farms in the San Joaquin Valley reportedly are no longer getting water from the state (Krik Siegler, NPR, April 7, 2015: California Farmers Gulp Most Of State's Water, But Say They've Cut Back).
California produces the majority of the U.S.’s produce including foods like broccoli,
lettuce and tomatoes (Krik Siegler, NPR, April 7, 2015: California Farmers Gulp Most Of State's Water, But Say They've Cut Back). In fact, California’s Central Valley produces 90% of
the grapes, broccoli, almonds, and walnuts (Renee Montagne Interview on NPR, April 9, 2015: Calif. Farmers Face Harsh Realities In Drought-Stricken Central Valley) we eat in the U.S. The Central Valley also produces rice, tomatoes, garlic, pistachios,
blueberries and other produce. All of this requires water. Water we don't have right now.
Samuel Sandoval, PhD, Cooperative Extension Specialist in
Water Management at the University of California, Davis was interviewed by NPR
on April 9, 2015 (Renee Montagne Interview on NPR, April 9, 2015: Calif. Farmers Face Harsh Realities In Drought-Stricken Central Valley). Dr. Davis explained some realities of agricultural water use and the impact
of this current drought. He said “...one walnut is about five gallons [of water],
one pistachio about one gallon of water or one almond, one gallon. A pound of
blueberries uses 48 gallons [of water].” According to Dr. Sandoval, some
farmers near Fresno don’t have any water left at this point. In 2014, the
economic cost of the drought including damaged and lost crops, livestock,
dairy and job losses reached $2.2 billion.
The decimation of local, regional and sustainable farming practices in favor of centralized and commercialized agricultural practices have left the entire country vulnerable to the consequences of one state’s drought.
Desalination
San Diego County imports most of its water from the Colorado River and Northern California. It's beautiful here but it doesn't rain much. The ocean is beautiful and immense but it isn't drinking water. It isn't water we can use to water crops.
It took over 12 years to plan and approve the project, but
it finally happened and San Diego County is getting its first desalination
plant in Carlsbad (Carlsbad Desalination Project).
Through a multi-step process, desalination takes water from the ocean, removes
impurities and minerals, and leaves behind usable and safe water. For
every 2 gallons of ocean water, the process yields 1 gallon of usable water. Because it comes from the ocean, it is considered a sustainable source of
water. The Carlsbad desalination plant is expected to provide San
Diego County with 50 million gallons of usable water per day, which equates to
water for about 300,000 people. About 3.1 million people live in San Diego
County.
Final Thoughts
If you happen to be in California and you see wet
sidewalks, green grass, or other nonessential uses of water, please ask
questions. Golf courses should not be
green unless they are made of turf or were painted. Restaurants shouldn't give
you water unless you ask for it. Think before you use water. Every drop counts.
