Bottled Water Issues
Could one consumer good cause so many problems with our water? The answer is yes, this one good is bottled water. Bottled water is bad for not only watersheds around the globe, but for animals and humans. Bottling plants draw up to two million gallons per minute from lakes or rivers in some places. Some of these plants bottle on rivers which drops water levels low enough to kill fish and other species. Bottled water isn’t a healthy choice for anyone. Buying bottled water is contributing to our water crisis.
Bottled water flows with many issues. The most important issue is the health impact not only for humans, but for watersheds. Bottled water companies pump 75 gallons per minute in some places (Hopey). Bottling companies take water from different areas that sometimes need the water for municipal uses. For example in the small town, Bakersville, the bottling company in Somerset County wants to come in and bottle up the water from Laurel Hill Creek that supports it. By bottling the water in this small river, the water levels are dropping, which is causing fish and other species to die off (Hopey). In this small river there is a fish hatchery, which breeds a breed of salmon that is close to being an endangered species. By drawing too much water, the fish in this hatchery won’t survive and all the efforts will be lost. In addition the water is being consumed faster than the regions near the bodies of water can replenish the water tables. Examples where this is being seen is in the Great Lakes are and Texas. Farmers and Fishermen are directly affected by these drops.(Arnold)
Also by shipping the water off, the water is not returning to its original watershed and doesn’t replenish its original watershed. This can cause drought and lakes and rivers begin to run dry. Bottled water is being purchased on a larger scale all over the United States. In 2007, every five minutes citizens used $11.7 million and 2 million bottles. In that whole year alone
Bottled water flows with many issues. The most important issue is the health impact not only for humans, but for watersheds. Bottled water companies pump 75 gallons per minute in some places (Hopey). Bottling companies take water from different areas that sometimes need the water for municipal uses. For example in the small town, Bakersville, the bottling company in Somerset County wants to come in and bottle up the water from Laurel Hill Creek that supports it. By bottling the water in this small river, the water levels are dropping, which is causing fish and other species to die off (Hopey). In this small river there is a fish hatchery, which breeds a breed of salmon that is close to being an endangered species. By drawing too much water, the fish in this hatchery won’t survive and all the efforts will be lost. In addition the water is being consumed faster than the regions near the bodies of water can replenish the water tables. Examples where this is being seen is in the Great Lakes are and Texas. Farmers and Fishermen are directly affected by these drops.(Arnold)
Also by shipping the water off, the water is not returning to its original watershed and doesn’t replenish its original watershed. This can cause drought and lakes and rivers begin to run dry. Bottled water is being purchased on a larger scale all over the United States. In 2007, every five minutes citizens used $11.7 million and 2 million bottles. In that whole year alone
Cited: Institute. February 2, 2006. < http://www.erth-policy.org/plan_b_updates/2006/updates51> “Barrier-Free Water Cooler” Drinking Fountain Doctor Holdings Inc. Sun Water Inc. 2011. Foley, Meraiah Hopey, Don. “Somerset Company’s Proposal to bottle Water from Creek stirs controversy.” Pittsburg Post-Gazette. July 5, 2009. Ochel, Evita Strand, Charles. “Water Filter Comparisons.” Sun Water Systems, Inc. 2010. Thompson, Kati