The Pacific Institue’s Integrity of Science blog has moved! A long time in the making, we have now officially moved this blog over to ScienceBlogs.

Please bookmark and update your feeds to reflect the new site: http://scienceblogs.com/integrityofscience/

See you there!

The Management

Yesterday’s Washington Post covered the battle between local residents and national and multinational bottled water companies. The story focused on a fight in Fryeburg, Maine between local citizens and Poland Springs, whom they accuse of overdrawing from local resources.

In response to all this, bottling companies have said they’re being targeted unfairly, noting that agricultural irrigation and city water systems extract far more water from the earth than they do. A recent survey by a University of Maryland researcher found that only about 0.019 percent of all the groundwater removed in the United States winds up in bottles.

We take issue with this 0.019 percent statistic on three fronts. First, the UM study was funded by the bottled water industry. Second, the study has not passed peer review. Third, it’s an essentially meaningless statistic: the impacts of bottling water are always local, and comparing local withdrawals to total U.S. groundwater withdrawals is meaningless.

As for the industry claiming unfair targeting: We need irrigation and municipal water. We have quality tap water in the U.S., some of the best water in the world. We don’t need to buy it at 7-11. And we certainly don’t need to suck communities’ resources dry in the process.

What do you get when you mix a sea volcano eruption, a meteorite shower, and a freshwater spring? If you answered “Super Powers,” SuperNariwa would like to sell you a $100 bottle of water.

The Water Connoisseur reports that SuperNariwa claims their concentrated and magnetically energized water will help you resist disease and slow the aging process, making you a veritable Wolverine. From the SuperNariwa Web site:

Research has been conducted on the effects of the uniqueness of SuperNariwa on the body’s response systems. Studies indicate that SuperNariwa can help the body resist disease and slow aging by: Increasing intracellular hydration; Replacing the depletion of essential minerals; Stabilizing and protecting cells; Helping to maintain normal blood flow and pH; Flushing out wastes, and preventing their accumulation in cells; and Eliminating harmful free radicals

The Water Connoisseur goes on to debunk the science and health claims made by SuperNariwa, concluding:

To a chemist, “magnetized water” is laughable nonsense, but to a number of companies, it is a bonanza— a wonderful opportunity to extract revenue from the notoriously science-challenged “alternative health” crowd.

The moral of the story: a Benjamin will not buy you a seat with the X-Men, but drinking tap water will save you some Benjamins.

In the United States, the bottled water industry has made dubious claims about the quality and benefits of bottled water versus tap water, but nothing as egregious as claims made the Czech Republic company Aquamat. Aquamat marketed an “anti-bird flu water” called Fromin Aktium to Czechs worried about the seemingly inevitable arrival of bird flu in their country. Aquamat’s manager claimed “The drink is a prevention against all viral-type infections, therefore against bird flu as well.” The government health agency demanded that the company withdraw the product, and it has since been taken off shelves. Sources: Radio Praha; Fine Waters.

For more information on the costs of bottled water, see the Pacific Institute’s report “The New Economy of Water.”