The Natural Resources Defense Council has questioned whether bottled water is any safer than tap water.  About one-third of the bottled waters tested, said NRDC, contained levels of contamination.

Synthetic organic chemicals, bacteria and arsenic were found, says NRDC, and at least one sample exceeded allowable limits under either state or bottled water industry standards or guidelines.  The NRDC study tested more than 1,000 bottles of 103 brands of bottled water.  Most were found "to be of high quality."

Bottled water regulations are inadequate to assure consumers of either purity or safety, NRDC continued, although both federal and state bottled water safety programs exist.

The Food and Drug Administration is responsible for bottled water safety, "but the FDA's rules completely exempt waters that are packaged and sold within the same state," said the organization.  That accounts for 60-70% of all bottled water sold in the country.  FDA also exempts carbonated water and seltzer, and fewer than half the states require carbonated waters to meet their own bottled water standards.

NRDC "is trying to scare consumers with its report on bottled water," said the International Bottled Water Association.  The IBWA was "surprised" at the report "when the NRDC's own testing shows that bottled water is safe.  Indeed the NRDC report confirms the quality results of the industry's own testing program."

For the past 37 years, under FDA regulatory authority, "there have been no confirmed reports in the United States of illness or disease linked to bottled water," said the IBWA.