Medical

Bottled water meets the needs of some of our most vulnerable individuals, those with compromised health. In fact, bottled water is often recommended for people whose immunity may be compromised by chemotherapy, transplant operations, or diseases such as AIDS. For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests bottled water as one important alternative for HIV patients because tap water offers a less reliable quality. Specifically, the CDC notes:

“Because you cannot be sure if your tap water is safe, you may wish to avoid tap water, including water or ice from a refrigerator ice-maker, which is made with tap water. Always check with the local health department and water utility to see if they have issued any special notices for people with HIV about tap water.

You may also wish to boil or filter your water, or to drink bottled water. Processed carbonated (bubbly) drinks in cans or bottles should be safe, but drinks made at a fountain might not be because they are made with tap water. If you choose to boil or filter your water or to drink only bottled water, do this all the time, not just at home.”

Moreover, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), like CDC, recommends bottled water as a good option for individuals with compromised immune systems, even at times when tap water quality is satisfactory for everyone else.  Other options include boiling tap water. Apparently, the EPA does not consider tap and bottled water to be the same quality or it would have suggested boiling both.

There are occasions where tap water is insufficient for more than a short period of time and bottled water becomes an important solution. For example, a recent article in The New York Times points out that the New York-Presbyterian/Columbia Hospital uses bottled water because their tap water has proven dangerous to patients. For three years, the hospital has kept signs posted over sinks that read: “Do not drink the water. Use bottled water for drinking, brushing teeth, or taking medication.” The hospital has not permitted anyone to drink the tap water since 2005 after two patients died from Legionnaire’s disease. This disease comes from a common bacterium that grows rapidly in industrial-sized water systems. The concern about this bacterium remains. “Until that is resolved, we will not be serving tap water,” a hospital spokesperson told The Times.