Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
remains safe. After release of the Associated Press report of trace
pharmaceuticals in tap water (discussed in Chapter 4), IBWA issued
a statement reminding consumers of the safety of bottled water:
The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) would like
to remind consumers that bottled water is not simply tap water
in a bottle and that the safety and quality of bottled water pro-
duced in accordance with U.S. Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) standards do not pose a health risk due to pharmaceu-
ticals or other substances. Bottled water is comprehensively
regulated as a packaged food product by FDA. Bottled water com-
panies use a multibarrier approach to bottled water safety, which
includes source protection, source monitoring, reverse osmosis,
distillation, filtration and other purification techniques, ozona-
tion, or ultraviolet (UV) light. The combination of FDA and state
regulations, along with a multibarrier approach and other pro-
tective measures, means that consumers can remain confident in
choosing bottled water.
6
PRIVATIZING WATER
Is water a commodity to be bought and sold, or does everyone have
the right to have access to water? That's the question that pervades
most, if not all, of the battles over water. It pits East versus West,
environmentalist versus rancher, farmer versus farmer, legislator
versus legislator, neighbor versus neighbor, and so on. The answer
isn't simple, given the different stakeholders. The path to consen-
sus is even more complicated, confusing, and convoluted.
Underlying the arguments for and against water as personal
property is the fact that water is by its nature a shared resource. At
least, that's how Villanova University water law expert Dellapenna
sees and teaches it. “The water I use today, you use tomorrow or
vice versa, depending on who is upstream and who is downstream.
You cannot freely deal with your water and ignore its effects on
me,” says Dellapenna. Regulating interactions among water users
is the basic problem in water law, he adds. “If I'm upstream from
you and free to sell my water to whomever, and damn the people
downriver, an awful lot of people are going to fi nd they don't have
