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Tap Water is All the Rage
By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 29, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 29, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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On Friday, Pepsi-Cola announced that its Aquafina brand bottled water would carry labels clearly stating that its water is tap water. If you think "The Aquafina in this bottle is purified water that originates from a public water source" or something along those lines is considered clear. Sure, Aquafina says its water is filtered, but this is a win for environmental groups (think the waste from bottle, the trucking to distribute the product, etc.) and people who want truth in advertising - as well as for NYC.
Last month, the city embarked on an advertising campaign to tout the benefits of NYC tap water, to encourage people to save money and reduce waste. In fact, a 2005 20/20 segment found that there's really no difference between bottled water and NYC tap water, and the city's tap water has long been heralded as one of the nation's best. However, in 2004, there were concerns that some water quality results were manipulated and in May, some trace amounts of a chemical known as perc (used in auto body shops and dry cleaners) were found in a Queens drinking water supply.
You can see the NYC DEP's water quality report here. Also, you can check out this NRDC study on whether bottled water is pure drink or pure hype - and have you read how Fiji Water gets over here? It's nuts!
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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