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1.
How popular is bottled water in Canada?
2.
Why are the sales of bottled water increasing
so quickly?
3.
What are the issues related to bottled water?
4.
How is bottled water regulated in Canada?
5.
What standards do the federal regulations impose
on bottled water?
6.
How are these regulations enforced?
7.
What is the difference between the requirements
for bottled water and for tap water?
8.
What is being done to address this difference?
9.
How does the withdrawal of water for bottling
affect water supplies?
10.
How is water taking regulated in Ontario?
11.
What are the concerns of communities where bottled
water companies are located?
12.
What action has the Ontario government taken?
13.
What are the Canadian Environmental Law Association's
views on bottled water?
14.
How can I find out more about bottled water?
15.
How can I find out more about bottled water in
other jurisdictions?
1.
How
popular is bottled water in Canada?
Sales
of bottled water over the last ten years have been steadily increasing
– in Canada per capita consumption has risen from 14.6 litres per
person in 1994 to about 15.8 litres per person in 1998. In the United
States the increase has been much more dramatic – with bottled water
sales up by 68 per cent, and an average consumption of 53 litres
per person.
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2.
Why are the sales of bottled water increasing
so quickly?
The
increase in sales has been fueled by successful marketing of bottled
water as an alternative to soft drinks, coffee and other beverages.
Its popularity also reflects a growing concern about chemical contamination
of municipal drinking water supplies.
In
Canada, the majority of bottled water production is exported to
the United States. Most of the plants are located in Ontario, Quebec
and British Columbia. The top four bottled water producers in Ontario
are located in rural communities with easy access to the American
market.
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3.
What are the issues related to bottled water?
Public
concern about bottled water has focused on two different aspects
– first, the discrepancy between the strict requirements set for
municipal drinking water supplies and the less stringent regulations
for bottled water. A second major concern is the mining of water
supplies by bottled water companies without adequate assessments
of groundwater reserves or the impact on surface water flows.
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4.
How is bottled water regulated in Canada?
Bottled
water is currently regulated as a food product by the federal government
through Health Canada. It is addressed in Division 12 of the Food
and Drug Regulations under the Food and Drugs Act. However,
the federal government has proposed a new Canada Health Protection
Act that would strengthen the provisions of the Food and
Drugs Act . Bottled drinking water would be part B1.1.16. Public
consultations are currently being held on what will be included
in the new Act. The new Act may have the effect of strengthening
the requirements for bottled water safety.
Bottled
water is not covered under Ontario 's Safe Drinking Water Act
or its regulations. It is, therefore, not subject to the same
treatment and testing regimes that apply to municipal water supplies
in the province.
For
more information on Health Canada 's proposed legislation, see:
www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/media/releases/2003/2003_42bk1.htm
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5.
What
standards do the federal regulations impose on bottled water?
Bottled
water comes from many sources and may undergo different kinds of
treatment and alterations. Health Canada under Division 12 of the
Food and Drugs Act determines the classifications:
-
If bottled water is labeled as spring or mineral water, Division
12 of the Food and Drug Regulations requires that the water must
come from an underground source. It cannot come from a public
water supply.
-
Mineral water is the same as spring water except that it contains
a larger amount of dissolved mineral salts, usually more than
500 milligrams per litre of dissolved solids.
Under
the regulations, chemicals cannot be used to change the composition
of mineral and spring waters. However, carbon dioxide and ozone
may be added to protect the freshness. In addition, the source of
the spring or mineral water must be identified.
-
If bottled water is not labeled as spring or mineral water, it
can come from any source, and be treated to make it fit for human
consumption. This type of bottled water may come from a well or
even a municipal water supply.
Bottled
water that is not from a spring may be altered before it is presented
for sale. It can be treated in different ways including carbonation,
ozonation, ultraviolet radiation or filtration to remove harmful
bacteria. It may be distilled or deionized to remove the minerals.
The regulations require that these treatments be identified on the
label as “carbonated”, “demineralized”, or “distilled”, for example.
Carbonated or sparkling water contains carbon dioxide.
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6.
How are these regulations enforced?
Federal
law requires that all bottled water offered for sale must be safe
to drink. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency periodically samples
and analyses both imported and domestic bottled waters. This monitoring
focuses primarily on testing bottled waters for bacterial contamination.
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7.
What is the difference between the requirements
for bottled water and for tap water?
A
regulation (O. Reg.169/03) under Ontario 's new Safe Drinking
Water Act, 2002 sets numerical limits on contaminants in drinking
water. Under this regulation, maximum levels of chemical, bacterial
and radiological parameters are set for municipal drinking water
supplies. All drinking water in Ontario must meet these standards.
However, bottled water is not legally required to meet these same
standards.
In
addition, the requirements for monitoring municipal drinking water
for chemical and bacterial contamination have been strengthened
under the Safe Drinking Water Act . The regulations also
require that all test results of municipal drinking water must be
available to the public on demand.
Bottled
water may also contain contaminants. The Canadian Food Inspection
Agency is responsible for checking for possible contamination. Yet
it is not known how frequently or how thoroughly the Agency tests.
There
is no requirement that the bottled water companies themselves do
comprehensive or regular sampling of their sources or of their products.
Nor is there any information readily available to the public about
the quality of particular bottled water products.
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8.
What is being done to address this difference?
In
both Canada and the United States, there have been legislative initiatives
to bring the requirements for bottled water into line with those
for municipal drinking water in order to better guarantee consumers
the safety of all drinking water.
In
Ontario a Private Member's Bill was introduced that would regulate
bottled water. This Bill was given second reading on October 17,
2002 with all party support, although it was not passed into law.
The Bill was called an Act to Amend the Ontario Water Resources
Act .
The
bill would give the province the authority to:
- prescribe
standards for chemical and radiological contaminants for bottled
water;
- forbid
selling bottled water unless it meets provincial standards;
- require
an analysis of the groundwater sources of bottled water and the
conditions resulting from natural run-off through aquifers.
Similarly,
in September 2003 a bill was introduced in California , the leading
state in bottled water consumption. The proposed bill also addresses
the issues of consumer protection and the labeling of bottled water.
Its intention is to require bottlers to prepare a “consumer confidence
report” that would be available to each customer. These reports
would be the equivalent of the consumer confidence reports that
all American municipalities must deliver to their drinking water
customers under the U.S. Safe Drinking Water Act. The bottled
water companies' reports would have to include information about
the brand's source, any regulated contaminant that is detected and
if a contaminant is present, the level of the contaminant and what
it means for human health.
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9.
How does the withdrawal of water for bottling
affect water supplies?
The
earth's water continually circulates in a hydrological cycle. Rain
and snow can either run directly off the land into streams or infiltrate
the earth to recharge groundwater. Groundwater moves through the
earth and eventually resurfaces into streams and lakes. Natural
springs occur where groundwater surfaces on land, often forming
the headwaters of a stream. These natural springs are the most common
sources for bottled water supplies.
Removing
water for bottling is considered to be a consumptive use of water.
This means water is withdrawn from a source for use and not returned
to its local ecosystem. A use that is considered non-consumptive
returns water after it is used back to its source; a consumptive
use removes it entirely.
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 usually been clear what amount of water can be taken
without causing water tables to drop and streams and rivers to dry
up.
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10.
How is water taking regulated in Ontario?
In
Ontario companies must apply to the Ministry of the Environment
for approval to take water if they are withdrawing more than 50,000
litres of water a day from a surface or groundwater source under
the Ministry's Permit to Take Water program. This is required under
Section 34 of the Ontario Water Resources Act . It is further
elaborated in the Ministry's Water Taking and Transfer Regulation
(O. Reg. 285/99). Before a permit is approved, the Ministry posts
the information on the Environmental Bill of Rights Registry for
public comment.
Many
small bottled water companies in Ontario take less than 50,000 litres
per day and are not required to get Ministry of Environment approval.
For
more information on water taking, see the Water
Taking FAQ.
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11.
What are the concerns of communities where
bottled water companies are located?
As
the sales of bottled water continue to rise, bottling companies
as well as companies that manufacture beverages such as beer or
soft drinks are increasingly coming into conflict with communities
that do not want large quantities of water removed from their local
water sources.
Many
of the bottled water companies are now owned by multinational corporations
such as the Perrier Group (owners of Poland Spring, Arrowhead and
Deer Park ) and Group Danone (owners of Crystal Springs in Ontario
and Naya in Quebec ). In addition, Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola are
entering the bottled water markets in both Canada and the United
States .
The
Ministry of the Environment calculates that they have already given
bottled water companies permits that allow an estimated 1800 billion
litres a year to be pumped out of underground aquifers. However,
the actual quantities being taken are believed to be less than one
per cent of this allowable amount. In most cases, permits to take
water have been granted without an adequate evaluation of groundwater
supplies or an assessment of the environmental impact on the local
ecosystem.
In
addition, bottlers are not required to pay for the water that they
take. The Association of Municipalities of Ontario has recommended
that the government charge a standard volume-based fee that could
be used to compensate municipalities for the wear and tear on their
roads and to provide a contribution to the protection of water resources.
Proposals
to pump large quantities of water from small rural communities has
created a backlash against the bottled water companies not only
in Ontario, but in other provinces such as British Columbia and
Quebec, and across the United States. Lawsuits have been filed by
citizens' and native groups in Wisconsin and Michigan to stop the
Perrier Group (a subsidiary of Nestle) from pumping thousands of
litres a day from groundwater supplies that feed into the Great
Lakes . After two attempts to locate a new bottling plant in Wisconsin
, Perrier has now located their plant in Mecosta County, Michigan,
north of Grand Rapids.
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12. What
action has the Ontario government taken?
In
December 2003 the Ontario government passed Ontario Regulation 434/03
establishing a moratorium on new and expanding permits to take water.
The regulation applies to permits to take water in Southern Ontario
and in areas for which Conservation Authorities have been established
in Northern Ontario .
The
moratorium will apply to beverage manufacturing, including bottled
water; fruit or vegetable canning or pickling; ready-mix concrete
manufacturing; aggregate processing where the product is a slurry;
and manufacturing or production of products that contain more than
50,000 litres per day of water. It does not apply to municipalities;
water used for agricultural purposes; renewals of existing permits
for the same volume from the same location; or existing permits
to take water.
The
government is proceeding with a review of the decision-making process
and rules governing the Permit to Take Water program, and with the
implementation of Justice O'Connor's recommendations on source protection.
See
the Source
Water Protection FAQ.
The
moratorium will allow the government time to put in place new rules
for water taking and water charges. The government also plans to
institute charges for water-bottling companies and other permit
holders that remove water from watersheds.
For
more information, see the Ministry of the Environment's web site
at: www.ene.gov.on.ca/water.htm
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13.
What are the Canadian Environmental Law Association's
views on bottled water?
The
Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA) believes that Ontario
's Permit to Take Water system needs to be strengthened. See “Bottling
Ontario's Groundwater Fact Sheet” at:
www.cela.ca/water/bottles.htm
CELA
has also expressed its concerns about water exports and trade agreements
in many papers and presentations. See “The Case Against Water Exports”
by Paul Muldoon, March 2000, at: www.cela.ca/water/w-opin.htm
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14. How can I find out more about bottled water?
Health
Canada has prepared answers to questions about the regulation of
bottled water in Canada. This information can be found at:
www.hc-sc.gc.ca/food-aliment/mh-dm/mhe-dme/e_faqs_bottle_water_eng.html
The
bottled water companies have the latest news and information about
their industry on their web site at: www.bottledwaterweb.com
The
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food has done an “Evaluation
of the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats to the Ontario
Bottled Water Industry” that can be found at: www.gov.on.ca/OMAF/english/food/sector/pdf/bottled
_water_text.htm
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15.
How can I find out more about bottled water
in other jurisdictions?
A
public interest group in the United States, the Natural Resources
Defense Council, has done a four-year study of bottled water – “Bottled
Water: Pure Drink or Pure Hype”. A key finding from their report
is the inadequacy of regulations in the United States to assure
the safety of bottled water. The results of their survey can be
found at: www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/nbw.asp
For
information about struggles to protect groundwater in the United
States, see: www.saveamericaswater.com/
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