Training & Nutrition - Why I buy my water on rides ...

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080407.wboilwat0407/BNStory/National

More than 1,700 Canadian boil-water advisories in effect: report

In its May edition, the Canadian Medical Association Journal reports that 1,760 boil-water advisories are in effect in communities across the country — excluding those on 93 First Nations territories.

...

Boil-water advisories are public-health warnings that tap or well water is unsafe to drink — sometimes even to bathe in — due to bacterial or other contamination.

The numbers, based on the latest information from provincial authorities, show most of the trouble spots are small, municipal water systems. Far-flung communities from Bay Roberts, N.L., and Victoria Beach, Man., to Tilley, Alta., and Sullivan Bay, B.C., have all experienced such orders, according to the report.

...

One Health Canada estimate, based on American studies, is that contaminated water kills 90 Canadians and sickens another 90,000 every year, although environmentalists believe the figures are understated.

Out of the frying pan, into the fire.

http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/bw/chap1.asp

We found after testing more than 1,000 bottles that about one fourth of the bottled water brands (23 of 103 waters, or 22 percent) were contaminated at levels violating strict enforceable state (California) limits for the state in which they were purchased, in at least one sample. We also found that almost one fifth of the waters we tested (18 of 103, or 17 percent) exceeded unenforceable sanitary guidelines for microbiological purity (heterotrophic-plate-count [HPC] bacteria guidelines, adopted in some states, the European Union (EU), and recommended by the bottled water industry) in at least one test. While HPC bacteria may be harmless themselves, they may mask the presence of pathogens; some states, the EU and the bottled water industry have adopted HPC guidelines to help ensure sanitary source water, processing, and bottling practices. In all, at least one sample of one third of the waters we tested (34 of 103, or 33 percent) exceeded a state enforceable standard for bacterial or chemical contamination, a nonenforceable microbiological-purity (HPC) guideline, or both.

Where does your bottled water come from?

If you can't answer that question, bottled water is more problematic than local water.

I usually choose Dasani or Evian because they are the least expensive. Dasani water comes from Calgary ... and Calgary's water is usually pretty good. Evian apparently comes from France.

I usually choose Dasani or Evian because they are the least expensive. Dasani water comes from Calgary ... and Calgary's water is usually pretty good. Evian apparently comes from France.

WOw I am not trying to argue, but the more I read about bottled water, makes me never want to drink it.


The volatility of PET bottles, which should never be refilled due to risks of leaching and bacterial growth, remains uncertain. Last year, William Shotyk, a Canadian scientist working at the University of Heidelberg, released a study of 132 brands of bottled water in PET bottles stored for six months, and found that significant levels of antimony, a toxic chemical used in the bottle's production, had leached into the water. Shotyk, who has vowed never to drink bottled water again, is now studying the bottles over a longer term, given the lag times that can occur between bottling, shipping, purchase and consumption. The Canadian Bottled Water Association counters that the levels don't pose a risk to humans. "Technically bottled water will not go bad if you properly store it," Griswald says, though she admits algae will build up if it's left in sunlight in high heat.
Smith predicts concern about internal pollution will increase as more people are tested for chemical contamination. "There's mounting evidence that these containers are leaching toxins into the beverages we're drinking and our children are drinking and there are easy substitutes available," he says. The Environmental Protection Agency in the U.S. commenced a massive study in 2000. This year, Statistics Canada begins testing 5,000 Canadians for a wide range of contaminants. Early data from the U.S. is troubling, Smith says. "There's empirical evidence that these plastic ingredients are now in the bodies of every citizen," he says. "I am quite sure that a few years from now we will look back at these toxins and shake our heads and wonder, 'What the heck were we thinking?' "

http://www.macleans.ca/article.jsp?content=20070514_105163_105163

Hmmm ... e-coli .... or some unnamed "toxins" .... one or the other!

Hmmm ... e-coli .... or some unnamed "toxins" .... one or the other!

It seems like a choose your poison scenario at best.

Well, given the color, smell, and taste of spring-runoff water and heat-of-the-summer water, I think I still generally prefer bottled water at certain times of the year, and in unknown towns.

The whole city where I live switches to bottled water (big jugs of the stuff) starting any time now and continuing for a month or 6 weeks until spring runoff is done. Apparently the water won't likely hurt us, but the smell and taste are enough to make a person gag.

I used to carry water purifying tablets on hikes.

Are most of those boil water advisories on municipal supplies or on privately owned wells?

Are most of those boil water advisories on municipal supplies or on privately owned wells?


Most of these advisories are in small towns supplied by well water.

I guess Canada isn't the utopia that so many make it out to be! At least we don't have lots of "boil water" warnings in place south of your border, despite many other problems! ;)

I guess Canada isn't the utopia that so many make it out to be! At least we don't have lots of "boil water" warnings in place south of your border, despite many other problems! ;)

Oh i would wager that if one investigated enough and used the same criteria there would be just as many boil water warnings :)

I guess Canada isn't the utopia that so many make it out to be! At least we don't have lots of "boil water" warnings in place south of your border, despite many other problems! ;)

That you know of.

I knew there were boil water warnings here in Canada, but I had no idea how many till I read that article. I bet if you checked around, you'd find quite a few in the US too ... especially in the US prairies.

For example:
http://www.wsaz.com/home/headlines/17468624.html
http://www.airandaqua.com/sunshop/index.php?l=page_view&p=Water_Warning_Michigan_November2007
http://www.health.state.ri.us/media/020609a.php
http://www.mygtv.net/?p=2151

I'm actually not surprised at the number of 'boil water' warnings. Ground water just isn't as clean as it used to be, especially in areas near farms. Where my parents are they don't even bother to tell them to boil, they just supply them with bottled water. The problem with Walkerton was water that was 'supposed' to be filtered wasn't because of a few inept workers and government cutbacks.