[Judy Pino] 
Tap or bottled?
That is the question.
The U.S. has one of the safest 
supplies of drinking water
in the world, but unfortunately 
most Americans take the quality,
reliability, and value of our 
drinking water for granted.
Hello and welcome 
to Green Scene.
I'm Judy Pino.
EPA sets national standards for 
contaminants in drinking water
so people can be assured that 
they are drinking water
subject to basic requirements, 
regardless of where they live
in the country.
But still, many hold onto their 
water bottles and H2O purifiers
just in case.
But to tell us more about how 
the EPA is working to make
our drinking water cleaner is 
Assistant Administrator for
the Office of Water 
Ben Grumbles.
Welcome, Ben, always 
good to have you.
[Ben Grumbles] 
Thank you, Judy.
[Judy Pino] 
Well, let's start off with 
a basic question, right?
Where does our drinking 
water come from,
and how does it get 
to our faucets?
[Ben Grumbles] 
It comes from the ground, 
from aquifers and springs.
It comes from surface water 
sources like rivers and lakes.
It's then pumped or, 
through gravity,
it gets to some type 
of treatment plant.
Through filtration and 
disinfection usually,
it's then treated 
to meet standards.
And then it's delivered through 
an amazing system to homes
and businesses throughout 
communities over a
million miles 
of pipe.
[Judy Pino] 
So, what are the major concerns, 
then, around the country with
our tap water?
[Ben Grumbles] 
Well, tap water is, 
in this country,
and the water systems 
supporting water supply,
is among the safest
in the world.
But there are concerns.
There are natural contaminants 
in rock and soil that can
leach into the water 
before it's treated.
There are also chemicals, 
industrial chemicals,
agricultural chemicals, 
coming from point sources
and non-point sources.
There's also pathogens that can 
occur in the treatment line,
the distribution lines, 
or mains themselves,
but again, the concerns are far 
outweighed by the many layers
of protection that are provided 
to ensure that our water is
safe and reliable and always 
there when you need it.
[Judy Pino] 
Now, so, let's try and 
put the issue at rest.
Tap or bottled?
[Ben Grumbles] 
Well, here's the deal.
EPA's approach is let's provide 
all the facts to the consumers
and then they can make personal 
choices to ensure that they're
choosing a safe and reliable 
and convenient approach.
The U.S. EPA has established 
standards for over
90 contaminants, contaminants 
of great concern,
where we have very stringent 
standards that state and local
authorities enforce.
And there are stringent 
continuous monitoring and
reporting requirements 
as well.
So all these various safeguards 
that come with the tap water
system make it a very good 
choice for consumers
and businesses.
And there's always a place 
for bottled water,
particularly in this mobile, 
global society in which
we live, or when there 
are emergencies.
[Judy Pino] 
Who sets the standards 
for the bottled water?
[Ben Grumbles] 
The Food and Drug Administration 
sets the standards for bottled
water, and they use EPA 
standards under the
Safe Drinking Water Act that 
we've set for the drinking
water contaminants.
So the basic point is that the 
water that is used for bottling
often is coming from the very 
same source as the tap water,
and in many cases, the bottled 
water is tap water.
It may go through some 
additional treatment
to improve the odor or taste, 
but the safety standards
are primarily the EPA Safe 
Drinking Water Act standards
that we apply
to tap water.
One of the most successful 
components of the environmental
statute is the consumer 
confidence report.
All of us should get these 
reports on an annual basis
from our local water authority 
providing the tap water
that tells you where you're 
getting your water.
It tells you whether or not 
any of the EPA standards
are being violated.
It's a very important 
report to consumers.
Bottled water industry regulated 
by FDA doesn't have a similar
mechanism, but they do have some 
of the same basic standards
that they apply that they 
must follow through the
Safe Drinking Water 
Act programs.
[Judy Pino] 
How does the source of water 
that we choose affect our
carbon footprint?
[Ben Grumbles] 
Unfortunately, we are finding 
an increasing trend where
a lot of the pollution on our 
beaches or in our oceans
are plastic bottle 
beverage containers.
We all know that it's 
important to recycle,
but the facts indicate that 
somewhere between 15 percent
and 30 percent of those plastic 
bottles are recycled.
The rest may end up in a 
landfill or, even worse,
actually, end up in the streets 
or the storm sewers,
which means they end up on the 
beaches or in the oceans.
[Judy Pino] 
Polluting.
What can citizens do to make 
sure that they're getting
clean water but at the same 
time feel good that they are
doing something good 
for the environment?
[Ben Grumbles] 
It's about looking for ways 
to reduce pollution
by acting locally.
It can be local ordinances 
or zoning decisions that
are made if you're 
participating in that.
If it could threaten sources of 
water, local drinking water,
that's important, something 
to be concerned about.
There's an ancient 
Chinese proverb:
"Drink the water but 
remember the spring."
[Judy Pino] 
Well, that makes sense.
And thank you, Ben Grumbles, 
assistant administrator for
water, for being with 
us, giving us very
important information.
[Ben Grumbles] 
Thank you.
[Judy Pino] 
So, tap or bottled, 
that is the question.
Which one will
you choose?
Let us help
you out.
And for more information please 
visit www.epa.gov/safewater.