The Earth is covered 75% with water. On average the human body is 70-75% water. But only 2% of the earth’s water is drinkable. Who said, “water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink?”
This could certainly apply to the current water crisis, not only to available clean water supplies for the world’s needs, but also closer, at hand, it could apply to a crisis in your own kitchen and in your own life. Now we will review a few of the environmental issues in regard to the use of water in our lives, for drinking and for other purposes. What is the status of our municipal water systems?

What are the effects of the multi-billion dollar bottled water industry?
Municipal Water Sources: Tap Water Some recent New York Times articles have headings like “That Tap Water Is Legal But May Be Unhealthy” and “Millions In India Drink Dirty Water, Records Show.” These stunning statements are backed by startling and upsetting statistics. Only 91 contaminants are regulated by The Safe Drinking Water Act, the 35 year old federal law which is so out of date that all the hundreds of recent risks which scientists have identified, have not been added to the regulated list since 2000. Studies have indicated that the contaminants in drinking water are linked to millions of instances of illness each year in India. Since some of these diseases take awhile to emerge, people may never realized the source of their illness. Evidence indicates that numerous chemicals are more dangerous than previously thought.
Bottled Waters: Containers & The Contained Bottled waters may compete with color, shape, and design, but the most important matter, is what is contained, not the container. People have been making the choice of drinking water from bottles, believing that they are making a healthier choice. But the water in many of these bottles contains toxins, chemicals, and contaminants.
“Drinking even one bottle of water . . . each day can have a negative impact on your body and the environment. More than half of bottled water comes from municipal sources and may contain toxins that have leached from the plastic bottle. When bottled water is purified, everything is stripped from the water, including beneficial minerals and nutrients. When you choose to drink bottled water rather than Kangen Water®, you are denying your body natural antioxidant power, beneficial nutrients, and complete hydration.”
“Did you know the production of a plastic water bottle uses 7 times as much water as the bottle holds?
For every pint of bottled water you drink, 7 pints of water were used, polluted, and returned to our earth. If you use just one plastic bottle water each day you will have consumed 70 or more bottles. This means that 490 pints, or 61 gallons of water, will have been wasted and polluted.” (Enagic Blog)
The wastefulness, then, is very clear but where are these used bottles going to go?
It is estimated that 85 percent of these bottles end up in landfills
(where it may take hundreds of years to degrade) and incinerators, which in turn can release deadly toxins. They also end up in our oceans, where fish and sea life become affected. The recycling of plastic bottles is often prohibitive due to cost. Therefore, the legacy of the bottled water industry is one of enormous cost to resources, health and the environment.