The Bethpage Water District is here to help residents better understand the quality of their tap water and the numerous benefits it has over bottled water.
“After drinking water is treated, but before it is delivered to the community’s homes and businesses, the District uses a New York State certified laboratory to conduct thousands of water quality assurance tests each year,” said BWD Chairman John Coumatos. “The testing parameters are all based on strict requirements set by Nassau County Department of Health, New York State Department of Health and the Environmental Protection Agency. Our District’s water plant operators routinely monitor the community’s water supply for nearly 150 separate parameters, including bacteria, inorganic contaminants, lead and more.”
Here are some of the facts about tap water to make you think twice before grabbing bottled water:
Tap water is more thoroughly tested than bottled water.
Tap water is regulated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the safety standards vary from those of bottled water which is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Tap water testing results must be reported to local and state regulatory agencies, while bottled water does not have as stringent requirements. Most importantly, tap water contains essential nutrients like calcium and iron, which may be removed from bottled water during processing.
Tap water is significantly cheaper than bottled water.
Many consumers are surprised to learn that bottled water can cost as much as 1,000 times more than the higher-quality tap water supplied by the Bethpage Water District. On average, over the course of a year, a half-gallon of bottled water per day (equivalent to the recommended eight glasses of water) can cost more than $250. Those same eight glasses of water per day from the tap cost approximately $0.30 for the entire year.
Tap water is better for the environment than bottled water.
The production, transportation and distribution process associated with bottled water has an enormous impact on the environment. Most water brands are packaged in a single-use plastic derived from crude oil, transported on diesel-burning trucks, generating greenhouse gases and contributing to global warming. Despite effective marketing and advertising efforts, bottled water is not a sustainable product.
Tap water is more convenient than bottled water.
The Bethpage Water District delivers some of the highest-quality water on Long Island directly into the homes of its customers, 24 hours a day, seven days week, 365 days a year.
Sometimes bottled water is just tap water anyway.
It has been revealed that some companies simply process and package municipal tap water and sell it under their own brand names at a price hundreds of times higher than local water provider’s rates. Don’t be fooled by fancy Madison Avenue advertising campaigns!
More About the Bethpage Water District:
The Bethpage Water District has six pump stations and nine supply wells throughout its five square-mile service area. This essential infrastructure has the capability to pump more than 13,000 gallons of water in a single minute, or six billion gallons of water per year. While system design far exceeds the District’s average demand of 1.5 billion gallons per year, it must stand ready to meet demands during peaks times of the year and during cases of extreme weather, fires or supply system issues. To prepare its water systems to supply potable water in any circumstance, the District has two elevated storage tanks and two ground storage tanks capable of storing more than six million gallons of water in total.
For more information, call the Bethpage Water District at (516) 931-0093 or visit the District website at www.bethpagewater.com