> No, not necessarily. NRDC conducted a four-year review of the bottled water industry and the safety standards that govern it, including a comparison of national bottled water rules with national tap water rules, and independent testing of over 1,000 bottles of water. Our conclusion is that there is no assurance that just because water comes out of a bottle it is any cleaner or safer than water from the tap. And in fact, an estimated 25 percent or more of bottled water is really just tap water in a bottle -- sometimes further treated, sometimes not.
> 2. Is bottled water actually unsafe?
> Most bottled water appears to be safe. Of the bottles we tested, the majority proved to be high quality and relatively free of contaminants. The quality of some brands was spotty, however, and such products may pose a health risk, primarily for people with weakened immune systems (such as the frail elderly, some infants, transplant and cancer patients, or people with HIV/AIDS). About 22 percent of the brands we tested contained, in at least one sample, chemical contaminants at levels above strict state health limits. If consumed over a long period of time, some of these contaminants could cause cancer or other health problems.
Don't forget also that there's a lot of plastic waste with bottled water, and the cost is enormous. The pure tap water I drink is cheap enough that I also use it to bathe in and water my plants. Even purified tap water isn't that cheap.
This price difference means there is a strong business interest to privatize water. (See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_privatization ). One of these companies is Nestlé Waters. Nestlé, like other private water companies, are bringing in loads of bottled water to Flint. This has the dual purpose of humanitarian support, and getting the idea across that bottled water is a solution over untrustworthy city water.
What an amazing coincidence that Deborah Muchmore, the wife of Gov. Rick Snyder’s ex-Chief of Staff Dennis Muchmore, was also spokesperson for Nestle Waters in Michigan. I think this alignment of interests is a natural consequence of believing that a (democratic) government should be run more like a(n autoritarian) business.
One point, if Nestle ran th water supply, they could be sued for damages and the EPA would have an adversarial role instead of covering for their buddies as they very likely were in Flint (by knowing the water was dangerous for months and only saying something when an independent researcher proved it was dangerous).
But the main point is they would face a jury setting damages if they pulled the same rookie corrupt BS that happened in Flint. The government won't.
> Homegrown brands, though, couldn’t boast glamorous European roots. So instead, they made Americans afraid of the tap. One ad from Royal Spring Water claimed that “tap water is poison.” Another, from Calistoga Mountain Spring Water, asked: “How can you be sure your water is safe? ... Unfortunately, you can’t.” Fiji Water infuriated Ohio with the tagline “The label says Fiji because it’s not bottled in Cleveland.” The insinuation, of course, was that there was something wrong with local water.
If people don't trust public city water to drink, but do trust private bottled water, then more profits for those companies. (Or if the new Central Florida University stadium was built without fountains, forcing people to buy $3 bottled water instead, then profit! ... Until the water ran out and "60 attendees were treated for heat-related issues; 18 were hospitalized for heat exhaustion".)
Not having access to potable water inside a public area like that seems nearly criminal. I wonder if they faced legal action, as I assume they had a policy of no outside drinks or beverages.
> When the stadium was designed, the building codes called for either drinking fountains or "bottled water coolers." But the sole source of water for fans attending last Saturday's inaugural game was from vendors.
> "Selling bottled water out of a concession stand is not what the code meant," said Gregg Gress of the International Code Council in Washington, D.C. Water coolers "were supposed to be the equivalent of a drinking fountain."
...
> The 2001 plumbing code under which UCF's stadium was designed gave builders the option of installing water fountains or "bottled water coolers."
> But several officials who are closely involved with building codes told the Orlando Sentinel that bottled-water coolers referred to refrigerated units fed by large plastic jugs, commonly found in offices.
> The code, they said, was not meant to include refrigerators containing individual bottles of water for sale, such as those that vendors used at the stadium last Saturday.
It then says that the university "was not subject to review by another government agency. That's because the university, like school districts, has the authority to issue its own permits and can decide whether it meets most building standards."
as well as pointing to a few previous cases:
> In 2003, the new stadium for the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles opened without water fountains for the general public in what was called an oversight. In 1962, Dodger Stadium architects in Los Angeles forgot to install drinking fountains, though some suspected the team's owner wanted to boost beer and soda sales.
In general there was a lot of astonishment over the lack of water fountains.
Oh, and no, you can't bring in your own drinks. They might contain alcohol, so beer sales would go down ... err, I mean that people might get drunk and rowdy or violent.
> Rick Snyder’s ex-Chief of Staff Dennis Muchmore, was also spokesperson for Nestle Waters in Michigan
While this sounds like a crazy conspiracy theory, I honestly can't think of any other reason why a politician would almost certainly destroy their career over something like this.
I don't think there was a conspiracy. There doesn't need to be direct collusion when those in government and business have the same long-term goals.
I think the people in office sincerely believe that governments should be run like a business. Businesses are typically organized with an authoritarian model rather than a democratic system. Hence the preference for a dictatorial emergency manager who is supposed to be able to be more effective than a democratically elected city counci.
Businesses are typically run with a profit motive, and rarely have human rights, like the right to drinkable water, in mind, much less paramount.
Finally, I'll quote from the recent Pussy Riot song, which quotes Chaika: "Be loyal to those in power, 'cause power is a gift from God, son." I don't know if it's accurate for Michigan, but it fits the general authoritarian model.
I was going on the first half of your statement "buying bottled water or refillable purified tap water".
The latter half is still a lot more expensive than municipal water. Do you also use that water for cooking? Washing your vegetables? Washing the dishes? Bathing? Brushing your teeth?
In Flint the government recommendation (if you can believe them) is to use filtered water for the first two, which means you'll need to fetch a lot of water for pasta night.
If you have kids, "Michigan’s top poison control doctor said parents should take care to limit the time children are in the bath and be sure they don’t drink any of the water" http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2016/01/11/do... , and they shouldn't use the water to brush their teeth.
Quoting from http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/qbw.asp :
> 1. Isn't bottled water safer than tap water?
> No, not necessarily. NRDC conducted a four-year review of the bottled water industry and the safety standards that govern it, including a comparison of national bottled water rules with national tap water rules, and independent testing of over 1,000 bottles of water. Our conclusion is that there is no assurance that just because water comes out of a bottle it is any cleaner or safer than water from the tap. And in fact, an estimated 25 percent or more of bottled water is really just tap water in a bottle -- sometimes further treated, sometimes not.
> 2. Is bottled water actually unsafe?
> Most bottled water appears to be safe. Of the bottles we tested, the majority proved to be high quality and relatively free of contaminants. The quality of some brands was spotty, however, and such products may pose a health risk, primarily for people with weakened immune systems (such as the frail elderly, some infants, transplant and cancer patients, or people with HIV/AIDS). About 22 percent of the brands we tested contained, in at least one sample, chemical contaminants at levels above strict state health limits. If consumed over a long period of time, some of these contaminants could cause cancer or other health problems.
Don't forget also that there's a lot of plastic waste with bottled water, and the cost is enormous. The pure tap water I drink is cheap enough that I also use it to bathe in and water my plants. Even purified tap water isn't that cheap.
This price difference means there is a strong business interest to privatize water. (See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_privatization ). One of these companies is Nestlé Waters. Nestlé, like other private water companies, are bringing in loads of bottled water to Flint. This has the dual purpose of humanitarian support, and getting the idea across that bottled water is a solution over untrustworthy city water.
What an amazing coincidence that Deborah Muchmore, the wife of Gov. Rick Snyder’s ex-Chief of Staff Dennis Muchmore, was also spokesperson for Nestle Waters in Michigan. I think this alignment of interests is a natural consequence of believing that a (democratic) government should be run more like a(n autoritarian) business.