- What NIH says about the quality of Bottled Water.

Unlike well water, which isn't subject to regulation, public water supplies are regulated by the EPA. Bottled water, on the other hand, is considered a food, and is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. In 1989, the Environmental Policy Institute concluded that the 'regulations for bottled water were not on par with those for tap water' says Linda Allen and Jeannie Darby of the University of California-Davis in an April 1994 article in the Journal of Environmental Health. In addition, regulations for tap and bottled water are not standardized: tap water has uniform national regulations, but 'bottled water is still subject top federal regulations with limited applicability and inconsistent state regulations' say Allen and Darby. In 1989 the Environemental Policy Institute concluded that bottled water is not necessarily any safer than tap water. In fact, EPI says that storage of bottled water, often for weeks or months at room temperature and higher, promotes bacterial growth in the water.... In 1994, the FDA passed regulations to impose the same standards on bottled water as the EPA imposes on tap water...Tap water supplies are often treated with chlorine, which can leave an aftertaste or odor. Bottled water, on the other hand, is usually treated by ozonation and filtration, processes that leave no aftertaste. Besides taste considerations, the EPA says that drinkinhg bottled water is appropriate when the levels of contaminants in the local water supply exceed health standards, and when household problems, such as lead in pipes, can cause contamination. Otherwise, researchers argue that bottled water just isn't worth the price, especially considering that it must be purchased, transported, and stored by the consumer."

see more at http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/1995/103-4/forum.html