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Laurel Street Store Opening!
August 26th, 2008watermatters will open its new store in early September at 2539 Laurel St in Vancouver, located one block east of Oak St between West Broadway and 10th Ave. We look ... More »
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Bottled Water Isn’t Cool
Tuesday, March 4th, 2008Why on Earth is anyone still drinking water bottled in plastic?
Not only is it a potential health hazard and more expensive than gasoline, consuming water from plastic water bottles contributes to global warming, environmental pollution and the rampant privatization of water. David Suzuki has been warning us of the ecological damage of bottled water for years. With green practices becoming trendy, consuming bottled water is losing its glamour and quickly becoming a social taboo.
7 Compelling Reasons to Stop Drinking Bottled Water
#1 It’s Making Us Sick – Plastics Are Toxic
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET #1 plastic) is used for single serve plastic water bottles.
This type of water bottle has been approved for one-time use only. It has become common practice for many people to unknowingly re-use these plastic bottles. Studies show that bacteria easily breeds in PET plastic bottles when re-used and that re-use may cause DEHA, a carcinogen, to migrate from the plastic into water contained in the bottle. A new 2006 study revealed that significant levels of antimony, a toxic chemical, leaches into water sold in PET plastic bottles. Learn moreBisphenal-A is a toxic compound found in polycarbonate (#7 plastic), the rigid, translucent, hard plastic used in Nalgene water bottles and many baby bottles. It is a hormone disruptor that mimics estrogen and is linked to early-onset puberty, declining sperm counts, obesity and the huge increase in breast and prostate cancer. Due to the alarming toxicity of this chemical, in March 2007 a billion-dollar class action suit was filed in Los Angeles against five leading manufacturers of baby bottles containing Bisphenal-A.
#2 It’s Expensive
The extortionate price of gas pales in comparison to bottled water. A litre (33.8 ounces) of tap water in Canada costs taxpayers an average of 0.0005 cents. A litre of bottled water sells between $0.50 and $6.00.That makes the markup on one litre of bottled water a whopping 1,000 – 12,000%
#3 It’s Under-Regulated
More than 1/4 of bottled water consumed by Canadians is simply filtered tap water. In Canada tap water has to meet 160 standards compared to less than half a dozen for bottled water. In Canada bottled water is considered a ‘food product’ and is regulated under the Federal Food and Drug Act. Bottled water production facilities are only inspected every 2 - 3 years whereas regular drinking water operators are subject to the Canadian Water Quality Guidelines and must test and report on a regular basis.
Contrary to its claims of purity, bottled water is not immune to contamination. A recent US study indicated that 1/3 of all brands tested contained arsenic and/or E.coli and that ¼ of all bottled water was simply tap water sold at a significant profit In March 2007, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency warned the public not to consume imported Jermuk Classic Brand Natural Sparkling Mineral Water because it contained excessive levels of arsenic. In 2004, Coca-Cola recalled its entire Dasani line of bottled water in the UK due to toxic compounds formed in the water during the disinfection process. Learn more
A two-year shelf life is considered acceptable for bottled water. There is no control over the change in the bottled water’s characteristics once it is bottled.
#4 It’s Polluting Our Planet
The pollution and energy consumption involved in the production, shipping and disposal of plastic bottles is staggering. “The production of one kilogram of PET plastic requires 17.5 kilograms of water and results in air pollution emissions of over half a dozen significant pollutants. In other words, the water required to create one plastic bottle is significantly more than that bottle will contain” says Rick Smith, Executive Director of Environmental Defence.
Plastics are the fastest growing form of municipal waste. They do not biodegrade. An estimated 88% of water bottles are not recycled. Our oceans, now littered with plastic, may be one of the most alarming of environmental concerns today. Most plastic floats near the sea surface where it is mistaken for food by birds and fishes. Through the global food chain, it is contaminating trillions upon trillions of ocean inhabitants and ultimately humans.
#5 Water Is Getting Scarce – Fast!
Severe drought is occurring in many regions around the globe with no sign of letting up. Meanwhile aquifers that can take hundreds of years to recharge have been depleted.
More than one billion people lack access to clean drinking water. Thirty-one countries face water scarcity and water sources are rapidly becoming polluted and depleted. By 2025, two-thirds of the world’s population will face water shortages. Learn more
Australia is experiencing its fifth consecutive year of drought. Permanent drought is predicted for the Southwestern U.S., much of which has been in severe drought since 2000. Seven American states and Mexico are competing for water from the already over-allocated Colorado River. China is also experiencing ongoing drought. 700 million Chinese lack reliable access to water suitable for human consumption. India is also deeply concerned about lack of water. Sections of Mexico City are sinking at a rate of 12 inches a year due to over-tapping aquifers that have been drained to supply the city’s population of 9 million with water.
Meanwhile ‘Big Water’ companies are buying access to and drying up aquifers that have traditionally supplied human populations, farms and ecosystems with water.
Current legislation in British Columbia allows companies (including non-Canadian companies) to extract up to 1,710,000 gallons of groundwater per day without a permit and ship it anywhere in the world providing it is in bottles less than 20 litres in size. BC communities, such as Valemont , are loosing their water to profiteering bottled water companies who can take our water with no accountablitity to the environment or local citizens! This is grossly incongruent with basic ethics, water shortages that are starting to occur within British Columbia and the urgent need to reduce carbon emissions around the globe.
#6 Privatizing Water Threatens a Human Right
Instead of working to help those without water, the world’s largest water corporations are seeking to privatize this precious resource, turning a public commons and a human right into a commodity. Learn more
Growing populations challenge aging water delivery systems that many local communities and governments cannot afford to update. ‘Big Water’ companies are moving in to take over public water systems in North America. They have plans to control 80% of the public water supply within the next few years. Paying grossly inflated prices for bottled water is intended to seduce us into accepting a transition from unlimited, affordable clean water for all to water becoming an expensive commodity owned and controlled by ‘Big Water’. We complain about gas prices. Why accept water prices that are even higher?
Disgracefully, Canada is the one country that has consistently voted against water as a human right at the World Water Forums in 2000, 2003 and 2006 and the 2002 UN Committee on Human Rights.
Meanwhile, more than 1/3 of the world’s population lives and dies without access to decent drinking water and sanitation.
Concerned groups, like the United Church of Canada, are taking a stand against bottled water on the moral grounds that water is a basic human right, not a commodity to be sold for profit.
#7 It’s No Longer Cool
Once a fashion trend, drinking bottled water will die in disgrace. Like the cigarette, once fashionable and now stigmatized, bottled water is on its way out. You know the story about the frog in the pot. Turn up the heat slowly and he won’t know he needs to get out. Don’t be caught in the heat. Your life depends on it.
Make the switch. Get out of the pot now. The new wave is health conscious and eco-friendly.
Say NO to bottled water.
So what can you do?
Simple.
• Use a non-plastic water bottle . Fill up at home.• Go back to the tap. Switch to a high quality point-of-use water treatment system designed for your local tap water.
• Educate yourself.
Watch these online movies:
“Power Play”Read these reports and articles:
Plastic: what do those numbers mean?
Trashing the Oceans
Bisphenol-A
Plastic toxins in bottled water
The Future of Water
Privatization of Water• Take action.
Protect BC ground water.
Ban Bisphenol A now!• Support these organizations:
Save Our Rivers
Wilderness Committee
Eco Justice Canada
David Suzuki Foundation
The Council of CanadiansSpread the word. Say NO to bottled water.
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Heavy Rainfall Has Affected Drinking Water Quality in Metro Vancouver
Wednesday, December 5th, 2007‘Water Turbidity (cloudy water) in Metro Vancouver has increased as a result of extremely heavy rainfall on the steep mountainous terrain above the region’s water supply lakes. Turbidity occurs when sediment is transported into the reservoirs by runoff.
The following areas are most affected: City of Vancouver, North Shore, and Burnaby.
Disinfection levels have been increased as a safety precaution and Metro Vancouver is operating the water system to maximize water quality.
Previous experience under similar conditions indicates that, other than the increased turbidity, the quality of tap water remains acceptable.
“While it may not be aesthetically pleasing, water coming out of taps remains acceptable to drink. There is NO boil water advisory in effect at this time [Dec 4, 2007],” said Vancouver Coastal Health Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Patty Daly.
However, because increased turbidity in drinking water may interfere with disinfection, there is the potential for an increase in the risk of gastrointestinal illness. In addition, those people with compromised immune systems are reminded that they should always either boil their water for at least one minute or drink water that has been treated to a level equal to that of boiling for one minute.
Industry may also note the presence of turbidity.
Water quality in Metro Vancouver’s source reservoirs is being closely monitored, and additional information will be provided in the event that the quality of the water decreases significantly.
Completion of the Seymour-Capilano Filtration Project in 2009 will provide a long-term solution to the turbidity in drinking water.Further information is available on the Metro Vancouver website.’
- from a media release issued by Metro Vancouver on December 4, 2007
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Trihalomethanes in Greater Vancouver Drinking Water
Tuesday, November 13th, 2007Chemical reactions happen when chlorine is added to water for disinfection purposes. Chlorine interacts with organic material in water forming hundreds of new compounds called disinfectant byproducts or chlorinated byproducts.
Trihalomethanes (THMs) are the most commonly known and researched of these compounds. You have probably heard of chloroform gas, one of many trihalomethanes.
Trihalomethanes (THMs) linked to cancer and birth defects.
Trihalomethanes are suspected to damage the liver, kidneys and central nervous system. They are also considered carcinogenic and have been linked to miscarriage and birth defects. Extra precautions are recommended during pregnancy.
THM risk in Greater Vancouver water supply.
Studies show increased cancer risk at exposure levels common in Greater Vancouver’s water supply. THM levels found in most ‘industrialized’ municipalities water supply increase the possibility of bladder cancer by 35%.
Greater Vancouver is supplied with surface water from mountainous watersheds which may contain a lot of organic content like leaves. This causes higher concentrations of trihalomethanes than may occur than in other municipalities that use ground water.
Trihalomethanes increase with heat and can also form in hot water heaters.
Hot showers increase trihalomethane exposure.
THMs are volatile gases that vaporize at temperatures lower than turn water to steam. While showering in an enclosed in a space that concentrates these toxic gases, you are inhaling them into your lungs and absorbing them through the opened pores of your skin introducing them directly into the bloodstream.
For protection, a shower filter that helps reduce exposure to THMs is highly recommended. It is important to note that most shower filters use a filtration media called KDF which is excellent for chlorine reduction but has absolutely NO impact on trihalomethanes. Learn more about protection.
Canada’s contaminant guidelines weaker than U.S. standards.
Canada is sadly lacking a clear national drinking water quality policy. Health Canada’s recommended maximum level for THMs in drinking water is 0.1 milligrams per litre (100 parts per billion). This is a guideline only and not enforced.
The U.S. has a more stringent standard - a maximum of 80 parts per billion.
Studies clearly indicate that serious health effects occur at much lower exposure levels (50 parts per billion).
Health Canada’s ‘official’ position on the guideline for trihalomethanes is that ‘cancer risk at this level over a lifetime is considered extremely low’. Health Canada must, however, have serious concerns about THMs and other chlorination by-products because a special task group has the current guidelines under review. The federal government is being challenged by advocacy groups for its weak and lacking regulations concerning toxic chemicals.
Other dangerous byproducts of chlorine.
HaloAcetic Acids (HAAs) are another important group of chlorinated byproducts for which there is currently no guideline in Canada. The U.S. maximum acceptable level is 60 parts per billion.
HaloAcetic Acids occur more readily in water with lower pH values. Water supplied to Greater Vancouver has low pH (acidic) and is being gradually adjusted to a higher pH (more alkaline) by the addition of soda ash to the water. The incentive for this is to protect pipes and plumbing from the corrosive effects of acidic water.
Chlorine is a cheap disinfectant but is it effective?
All chemical disinfectants create toxic byproducts including disinfection with ozone.
Chlorine (also a carcinogen), and its derivatives, are most commonly used in North America for water disinfection. It is the most inexpensive way to disinfect water. Although a biological poison, chlorine has significant limitations as an effective disinfectant.
What’s your solution?
Protection is certainly NOT guaranteed with bottled water which may contain trihalomethanes and a host of other toxic compounds.
Your best bet is a point-of-use drinking water filter that has been third party tested for high capacity reduction of chlorine, trihalomethanes and whatever other contaminants occur in your drinking water.
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Rain, Turbidity and Boil Water Advisories
Friday, September 28th, 2007If you are a resident of Greater Vancouver you may have recently noticed a more pronounced smell of chlorine in your drinking water and while showering. ‘Eau-de-chlorine’ is not a tantalizing scent to most of us. Why is there suddenly more of it in our tap water?
More rain means more chlorine.
The rainy season has arrived again here in the Vancouver area. Rain washes sediment into our watersheds creating a condition called turbidity. Turbidity is the presence of fine particulate and suspended matter (usually just silt) that makes water cloudy. This phenomenon, harmless in itself, can mask the presence of harmful micro-organisms like bacteria and cysts. When turbidity increases, our water district adds more chlorine to the municipal water treatment system to make sure it is properly disinfected.
Turbidity and boil water advisories again this year?
Most of us became very familiar with that ‘dirty’ word, turbidity, last November (2006) when we experienced an unprecedented drinking water crisis. Are we going to encounter more turbidity events and boil water advisories again this year?
Because of our rainy climate and water sourced from open wilderness reservoirs, Greater Vancouver has always experienced increases in turbidity in the fall and winter months. This is the reason for the construction of our new Seymour-Capilano Water Filtration Plant. Until this project is completed (now anticipated in 2010), we can expect turbidity issues to re-occur. The severity of these occurrences cannot be predicted.
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Drinking Water Filters – How do you choose?
Friday, September 28th, 2007A guide for residents of Greater Vancouver
You know bottled water isn’t the answer. So you’re either filtering your tap water, or you’re thinking about it. But how do you choose from the confusing deluge of water filters and treatment methods that are flooding the market these days?
Knowing what is and isn’t in your water is imperative
Have you ever wondered what exactly is in your tap water that needs to be filtered out?
Water filters are not like other appliances. A blender is a blender. But a water treatment system needs to be tailored to the water coming out of your tap. Why? Because every city, every water district has different water conditions.Chlorine, chloramines, fluoride, arsenic, radon, lead, trihalomethanes, haloacetic acids, herbicides, pesticides, gasoline additives, parasite cysts, pharmaceuticals, nitrates are just a few of the many hundreds of contaminants found in North American water distribution systems.
Which of these are in your water?
And what are the consequences of drinking them day after day and year after year?
Consider yourself fortunate if you live in Greater Vancouver, as your water contains only a few of these noxious contaminants – but which ones?
An accurate answer to this question gives you the key to making a safe and informed choice for a drinking water system that can treat your water effectively.
Where does your water come from?
Drinking water for Greater Vancouver* comes from wilderness watersheds in the North Shore mountains and is captured in the Capilano, Seymour and Coquitlam reservoirs.
Except for wildlife, access to these watersheds is highly restricted protecting our source water from contamination by human activity.
Birds and animals that live in the watershed areas can transfer parasite cysts called Cryptosporidium and Giardia into the source
water. Though not usually fatal, these cysts can cause illness.Although chlorine is introduced to the water as a disinfectant at the water treatment plant, it is not very effective at killing Cryptosporidium cysts.
The consequences of using chlorine
Chlorine (and ozone at Coquitlam) is the disinfectant used in our water. It ensures that drinking water is microbiologically ‘safe’. That means no harmful bacteria and no viruses.
However, the use of chlorine (itself a poison), especially with surface water rich in organic matter like ours, results in the formation of highly toxic chlorine by-products that are clearly linked to cancer, miscarriage and negative effects for pregnancy. Recent studies indicate that damage occurs at lower levels of exposure than considered ‘safe’ by current drinking water standards. Learn more.
Health hazards in Vancouver’s water
Tap water in the Greater Vancouver area may contain the following potential health hazards:
- Chlorine
a biological poison
- Trihalomethanes (THMs) and Haloacetic Acids (HAAs)
chlorination by-products known to cause cancer and birth defects. - Cryptosporidium and Giardia
parasite cysts cause intestinal and immune system disorders. - Lead
(especially in homes built prior to 1989)
not found in the water supply itself but introduced into water from pipe fittings and plumbing fixtures containing lead.
Bottled water isn’t the answer
Despite its tremendous popularity in recent years, bottled water is often just municipal tap water. Under regulated and exorbitantly over priced, it is toxic to the environment and often to human health. Learn more.
The basic requirement for safe water
You now know the basic requirement for choosing effective water treatment if you live in Greater Vancouver: select a system that is capable of protecting you from chlorine, cryptosporidium, giardia, THMs, and lead.
It should have the capacity to do so for a reasonable length of time, calculated by the number of gallons of water that can pass
through it before loosing effectiveness for filtering each particular contaminant.When you think about it, these points are so obvious, but rarely addressed in the world of buying and selling water filters.
Most water treatment systems don’t match local conditions
There is a confusing array of water filters and water treatment systems competing for your attention. These products are made and shipped here from all over the world.
Do the manufacturers and vendors of those systems know about the unique characteristics of your local water supply? Unlikely.
Guidelines for choosing your water treatment system
Every type of water filter or purifier has strengths and weaknesses. Here are some important tips on choosing a water treatment
system that will ensure your protection.Tip #1
Choose a water treatment system capable of reducing hazards specific to Greater Vancouver’s water. Be certain the system can protect you from all know contaminants in your local water.
Tip#2
Find out the capacity of the system for each contaminant. How many gallons/litres can the filter handle before its capacity for that contaminant is exhausted? For example, capacity for Trihalomethanes (THMs) is usually exhausted long before the capacity for chlorine.
Tip #3
A multistage system with several different filters with the right characteristics can cover all the bases. This is because high quality filter cartridges are specialized. Each cartridge will perform a special function.
Tip #4
Avoid systems that are designed for contaminants not found in Vancouver’s water. For example, protection from fluoride is not necessary in Vancouver.
Tip #5
Make sure your water treatment system can filter particles one micron in size or smaller. The system should be able to do much more than just make your water taste better. It should do the filtering, not your kidneys.
Tip #6
Reverse Osmosis systems are not recommended for Greater Vancouver’s water conditions.
Tip #7
Be diligent about maintaining your system and replacing cartridges at recommended intervals. Fouled cartridges can introduce contaminants back into your water.
The moral of the story…
Don’t waste your money and your health on water treatment that doesn’t address Vancouver’s unique water conditions.
Make your water treatment system is an exact match to the contaminants coming out of your tap – no more, no less.
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*The Greater Vancouver Water District services Anmore, Bowen Island, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Delta, Langley (City), Langley (Township), Maple Ridge, New Westminster, North Vancouver (City), North Vancouver (District), Pitt Meadows, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Richmond, Surrey, Vancouver, West Vancouver.
- Chlorine