Is Bottled Water Good for Your Pets?

We’ve all seen the bottled water ads and commercials featuring tropical paradises and crisp clear sparkling water that promises ultimate health and well-being. And, when you pay a premium of up to 1900 times more for bottled water than you do for tap, you certainly expect to get the “purest” water possible!

But are these bottled water companies telling you the truth?

The answer is critical to both you and your pets well-being!

Unfortunately, according to reports by the Environmental Working Group, bottled water claims of “purity” are false, and, may even be hazardous to you and your pets’ health!

A detailed water analysis sponsored by the EWG and conducted by the University of Iowa Hygienic Laboratory found that 10 of the leading brands of bottled water, “purchased from grocery stores and other retailers in 9 states and the District of Columbia, contained 38 chemical pollutants all together with an average of 8 contaminants in each brand.” More than one-third of the chemicals found are not regulated by any agency and four brands were also contaminated with bacteria!

This detailed study also found that each of the leading brands had a wide range of pollutants including disinfection byproducts and common urban wastewater pollutants including; caffeine, Tylenol,heavy metals, minerals, arsenic, radioactive isotopes, and, a large range of industrial chemicals including solvents and fertilizer residue.

Two of the ten bottled brands tested – Walmart’s Sams Choice and Giants Acadia – had the exact mixture of chemicals used in public tap water including fluoride.

The only difference between Walmart’s Sams choice and Giants Acadia bottled water and tap water was the bottled brands’ level of disinfectant byproducts, which exceeded safety standards established by the state of California and the IBWA, their own bottle water agency!

Walmart’s Sam’s Choice bottled water “purchased at several locations in the San Francisca Bay area, was polluted with disinfection by products called trihalomethanes at levels that exceed the state’s legal limit for bottled water.” These byproducts are BOTH linked to cancer and reproductive problems.

Lab tests on Walmart’s SamChoice also found a cancer causing chemical called bromodichloromethane at levels that exceed safety standards for cancer-causing chemicals under California’s Safe Drinking. This toxic substance “spurs a 78% increase in the growth of breast cancer cells compared to the control sample.”

While the lab’s report went on to state that “this result is considered a modest effect relative to the potency of some other industrial chemicals in spurring breast cancer cell growth,” the fact that any pet or human is drinking water laced with cancer-causing chemicals that claims to be “pure” is appalling!

So What’s a Pet-Owner to Do?

-The first thing to do is stop buying bottled water! It is not regulated like tap water – and the test results cited

show that the leading brands do not follow their own industry’s stated standards.

-Find out what’s in your tap water! Go to www.epa.gov/drink/localindex.cfm or EWG’s National Tap Water

Atlas at www.ewg.org/tap-water.

-Once you know what chemicals are coming out of your faucets, you will be better able to determine what if any

filters would best serve you and your pet’s needs.

-Choose a filter certified to remove contaminants found in your water. Go to www.waterfiltercomparison.com

Prices for Carbon Filters (tap-mounted or pitcher) tend to be the cheapest. However, no carbon filters can get

rid of arsenic or perchlorate (rocket fuel). These deadly contaminants require a reverse osmosis filter.

-If you are in a pinch and need to have bottled water on hand, go to the EWG’s, Whats in My Water Guide,

www.ewg.org/health/report/bottledwater-scorecard, and pick one of the top recommended brands available

to you. Try to pick water in glass bottles. Plastic bottles can harbor bacteria and break down causing harmful

toxins to be leached into your pet’s water. For travel and walks, Stainless Steel or BPA-Free bottles are the

safest bet.

Here’s to you and your pets’ health!!