Bottled Water Should Be Held to the Same Standard as Other Drinking Water in California--And You Can Do Something About It

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Gary A. Patton
Executive Director
Planning and Conservation League

Thousands of Californians pay a premium for bottled and vended water because of the perceived higher quality of that water. However, bottled and vended water companies are not held to the same reporting standards as other drinking water providers.

Consumers not only have the right to know if they're getting what they're paying for, but also deserve the assurance that the water they are buying is safe.

With Senate Bill 220, the "Bottled and Vended Water Accountability Act", Senator Corbett is fighting to ensure that bottled and vended water suppliers are held accountable for their product's quality and safety.

SB 220 is in the Assembly Appropriations Committee in its final stages of becoming law. Supported by a broad coalition of environmental and environmental justice groups, we are asking for your assistance in helping us convince Governor Schwarzenegger to sign SB 220 when it reaches his desk. Your letter is crucial to ensure that SB 220 becomes law.

You have a right to know what is in the bottled and vended water that you purchase for your family but today's regulations offer only minimal consumer protections. Currently, water bottlers are not required to provide you with information about what is in the water they are selling, and water vending machines are only inspected when complaints are received.

When enacted, SB 220 (Corbett) will protect your consumer rights by:

--Setting up an inspection program
--Ensuring that water quality information for bottled water is available to the public
--Requiring that water vending machines post key information in Spanish as well as English