Bottled Water and Water Shortages

Impact of Extracting Water on Aquifers and Ecosystems

Oct 17, 2008

There is concern that mining groundwater has a negative impact on water stores and ecosystems. Regulation may be critical to help to aid in a global water crisis.

Earth’s water circulates in a water cycle. Precipitation can run directly off land into streams and rivers, or permeate the ground to replenish underground flows and aquifers. Groundwater flows up and eventually resurfaces into streams and lakes. When groundwater surfaces on land, natural springs form. Bottled water companies most often use these springs for water supplies.

Mining for Water Can Effect Ecosystems

The Canadian Environmental Law Association’s website “Bottled Water FAQs” article, dated January, 2004, explains that “removing water for bottling is considered to be consumptive use of water. This means water is withdrawn from a source and not returned to its local ecosystem.” If water is returned to its source it is considered non-consumptive.

The article further explains that there is a “growing concern that taking too much water can reduce or deplete groundwater reserves and reduce the flow of streams and lakes, causing stress on ecosystems. Although groundwater systems can be recharged, it has not been clear what amount of water can be taken without causing water tables to drop.”

Due to the rapid growth of the bottled water industry, water extraction has been concentrated in areas neighboring bottling plants. According to Joyce Ahn, Harvard Law Graduate 2006, in her paper submitted May 2006, titled “Uncapping the Bottle: A Look Inside the History, Industry, and Regulation of Bottled Water in the United States,” “environmentalists and local residents have expressed concern about the maintenance of their water resources and about the degradation of their springs, rivers and lakes.”

She explains that “many of their fears have been justified as water shortages near bottled water plants have been increasingly reported in places such as Texas, Florida, and the Great Lakes Region. Farmers, fishers and others who depend on the water for their livelihoods have also reported suffering from the concentrated water extraction.”

Aquifers are natural formations that store groundwater and are sufficiently permeable to transmit water to wells and springs. Ahn explains that when bottled water companies remove large quantities of water from aquifers without replenishment, the physical characteristics of the aquifers change and cause adverse effects on nearby water sources.

In testimony to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, Subcommittee on Transportation Safety, Infrastructure Security, and Water Quality, Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director, Food and Water Watch states that “when flows and levels of a region’s springs, wetlands, lakes, streams and rivers are materially affected from extraction for bottling, the entire local and even regional environment suffers.” This includes industries and activities that rely on water such as agriculture, tourism and recreation.

She testifies that no one knows how much water is being mined because there is no universal policy for bottled water companies. Hauter feels that “there must be some regulation or standard, preferably at state and local levels, addressing how much water bottling companies can extract.”

Bottled Water Industry Recognizes Environmental Conservation

The President and CEO of the International Bottled Water Association, or IBWA, Joseph Doss, testified at the Subcommittee on Transportation Safety, Infrastructure Security and Water Quality on September 10, 2008. In his testimony he states that “groundwater is a renewable resource that is replenished through the hydrologic cycle. The duration of the replenishment cycle is influenced by weather patterns, recharge areas and characteristics, geologic settings and site-specific factors.”

He confirms that the IBWA supports groundwater management policies, laws and regulations, that are comprehensive, science-based, multi-jurisdictional and treat all users equally.

With the threat of a global water crisis, it is important to protect aquifers to maintain sustainable levels and protect ecosystems. This can be achieved through sound business practices and regulation.

The copyright of the article Bottled Water and Water Shortages in Environmentalism is owned by Christin Aitchison. Permission to republish Bottled Water and Water Shortages in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.