PNWS-AWWA 2008
Annual Conference
Bottled Water:
Tapping the Trends
Patrick Weber
Brown and Caldwell
Outline
 What is bottled water?
 Industry growth and consumer choices
 Marketing strategies
 Regulations and standards
 Water quality and independent studies
 Plastic bottles
 Tips for personal use
PNWS-AWWA 2008 Annual Conference
Why does this matter?
 It’s an important related industry
– Maintain awareness of trends
 Despite media attention, not necessarily
bottle vs. tap
– Some ads both ways take that approach
– Cases of “implied impurity”
 Is growth in bottled water consumption a
threat to municipal suppliers?
– Not directly
– Public perception is important
 We’ll come back to this
PNWS-AWWA 2008 Annual Conference
What is bottled water?
What is bottled water?
 Sources:
– Artesian
– Spring
– Mineral
– Well
– Municipal
– Surface
 FDA rules for
labeling
certain types
PNWS-AWWA 2008 Annual Conference
What is bottled water?
 Containers:
– Bottle
– Water cooler
– Counter-top
spigot
– Gallon jug
– Other
 Materials
– Plastic
– Glass
PNWS-AWWA 2008 Annual Conference
What is bottled water?
 For U.S. consumers:
– 60-70% sold in the same state it’s bottled
– About 5% imported
– About 25% from municipal sources
 Aquafina and Dasani reportedly going to
voluntarily label as “from public sources”
– Both do reverse osmosis and/or other
filtration and mineral addition
 Many bottlers do some type of filtration or
other treatment, or add minerals for taste
 Other types: sparkling, flavored, vitamin
enhanced, etc.
PNWS-AWWA 2008 Annual Conference
Consumption Trends
Consumption Trends
 The bottled water industry is the 2nd
largest commercial beverage
category in the US.
 In 2007 there were 8.8 billion gallons
of bottled water sold in the US, which
is an increase of 6.9% from the
previous year.
 The average consumption in the US
was over 29 gallons per person, more
than any other beverage annually.
PNWS-AWWA 2008 Annual Conference
Consumption Trends
U.S. BOTTLED WATER MARKET
Volume and Producer Revenues
2000 - 2008(P)
Millions of
Annual
Millions of
Annual
Year
Gallons
% Change
Dollars
% Change
2000
4,725.1
--
$6,113.0
--
2001
5,185.3
9.7%
$6,880.6
12.6%
2002
5,795.7
11.8%
$7,901.4
14.8%
2003
6,269.8
8.2%
$8,526.4
7.9%
2004
6,806.7
8.6%
$9,169.5
7.5%
2005
7,538.9
10.8%
$10,007.4
9.1%
2006
8,253.5
9.5%
$10,857.8
8.5%
2007
8,823.0
6.9%
$11,705.9
7.8%
2008(P)
9,418.0
6.7%
$12,573.5
7.4%
(P) Preliminary
Source: Beverage Marketing Corporation
PNWS-AWWA 2008 Annual Conference
Consumption Trends
 U.S. vs. International Consumption:
#1 in total volume consumed
#9 in per capita consumption
GLOBAL BOTTLED WATER MARKET
Per Capita Consumption by Leading Countries
2002 – 2007
2007
Rank
Gallons Per Capita
Countries
2002
2007
1
United Arab Emirates
35.2
68.6
2
Mexico
37.7
54.1
3
Italy
44.2
53.3
4
Belgium-Luxembourg
32.7
39.5
5
France
37.1
35.8
6
Germany
27.8
33.3
7
Spain
29.7
31.7
8
Lebanon
24.9
29.3
9
United States
20.1
29.3
Hungary
13.5
28.5
10
PNWS-AWWA 2008 Annual Conference
Consumer Choices
Consumer Choices
 Phone survey of Washington residents
– Conducted April 2007 as part of DOH
Tap Water campaign
 Key points:
– 55% prefer tap water
– 45% prefer bottled water
– More likely to prefer tap:
 Males, people over 35, and households
without children
– More likely to prefer bottled:
 Females, people under 35, and households
with children
PNWS-AWWA 2008 Annual Conference
Why choose bottled or tap?
30%
Tastes better
25%
Clean
20%
15%
Doesn't have
chlorine or fluoride
Good (general)
10%
Convenient
Cheap
5%
I have a filter
0%
Bottled water
Tap water
PNWS-AWWA 2008 Annual Conference
Advantages of Bottled
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
Portable
Cleaner/purer
Tastes better
Convenient
No advantage
5%
0%
PNWS-AWWA 2008 Annual Conference
Advantages of Tap
45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Low cost
Convenient
Available
Has fluoride
Better taste
Less waste
No advantage
PNWS-AWWA 2008 Annual Conference
Which Do You Trust More?
Both
equally
17%
Tap water
31%
Bottled
water
52%
PNWS-AWWA 2008 Annual Conference
Consumer Choices
 Natural Resource Defense Council (NRDC) (from AWWA,
1993):
– Why People Drink Bottled Water
PNWS-AWWA 2008 Annual Conference
Consumer Choices
 International Bottled Water Association
(IBWA) reasons:
– Convenient choice.
– Alternative for people living in the
developing world.
– Consistently safe, quality, good taste
and convenience.
– An alternative to other bottled
beverages that are high in calories and
sugar content.
– Most people drink both bottled and tap
water and it is not an issue of one vs.
the other.
PNWS-AWWA 2008 Annual Conference
Consumer Choices
Three trends emerging in the industry:
– North Americans have started to buy cheaper bottled water
such as those sold by Coke and Pepsi (Dasani and
Aquafina)
– Many top producers are starting to create nutrientenriched waters in the hopes to create a new growth
frontier for the industry.
– The most widespread industry trend is flavored bottled
water.
(Beverage Marketing Corp)
PNWS-AWWA 2008 Annual Conference
Major Suppliers and
Marketing Approaches
Major Suppliers
 Leading Global Suppliers:
– Nestlé
– Danone
– Coca-Cola
– PepsiCo
PNWS-AWWA 2008 Annual Conference
Major Suppliers

Popular Bottled Water in the
U.S. (no particular order):
1.
Fiji Water – Paramount Citrus
product
2. Poland Springs – Nestlé product
3. Evian – Danone product
4. Aquafina – PepsiCo product
5. Dasani – Coke product
PNWS-AWWA 2008 Annual Conference
Marketing Approaches
 Overview: “There's no question about it: Fiji is
far away. But when it comes to drinking water,
"remote" happens to be very, very good. Look
at it this way. FIJI Water is drawn from an
artesian aquifer, located at the very edge of a
primitive rainforest, hundreds of miles away
from the nearest continent. That very distance
is part of what makes us so much more pure
and so much healthier than other bottled
waters.”
PNWS-AWWA 2008 Annual Conference
Marketing Approaches
 Marketing Slogans/Strategies:
 “Untouched by man”
 Soft smooth taste that is healthy for you; infused with
calcium and magnesium, fluoride, silica, pH and
bicarbonate
 Plan to be Carbon Negative in 2008
 Reducing the amount of packaging used by 20% over 3
years
 “Far from pollution. Far from acid rain. Far from
industrial waste.”
 Working with Conservation International to protect the
Fiji rainforest
PNWS-AWWA 2008 Annual Conference
Marketing Approaches
 Overview: Poland Springs Natural Spring Water
started as a world-renowned spa in Main in the
19th century. It started bottling its water in
1845.
 Marketing Slogans/Strategies:
– “Just may be the best tasting water on
earth”
– “Sweetness is overrated – keep your kids
healthy and hydrated.”
– No fat, no calories, no cholesterol
– Sip smarter, live longer
PNWS-AWWA 2008 Annual Conference
Marketing Approaches
 Claims made:
 Water comes from ancient aquifers created by
a retreating glacier 20,000 years ago
 Continuously fed by water from rainfall and
melting snow the water percolates through
layers of fine sand and gravel to produce spring
water with a clean, crisp, refreshing taste
 Screened for 200 possible contaminators,
which is more than the FDA and state
regulations
PNWS-AWWA 2008 Annual Conference
Marketing Approaches
 Claims made:
 “Each drop of Evian Natural Spring Water starts
off as rain and snow high up in the pristine
peaks of the French Alps, traveling through a
vast mineral aquifer deep within the mountains
before emerging at last at the spring in Evianles-Bains. This amazing journey is the secret to
Evian’s purity and takes over 15 years.”
 “When you drink Evian, you drink what the Alps
has given it.”
PNWS-AWWA 2008 Annual Conference
Marketing Approaches
 Marketing Slogans/Strategies:
 “Untouched by man perfect by nature”
 Limited edition bottles are available to “dress
up your table”.
 Other terms used: luxury, pure, balanced,
miracle of nature.
PNWS-AWWA 2008 Annual Conference
Marketing Approaches
 Overview: Aquafina water comes from public
water sources and then goes through a stateof–the-art HydRO-7 step purifying process.
 Marketing Slogans/Strategies:
 “Pure Water, Perfect Taste”
 Aquafina Alive is a nutrient enhanced water
beverage
– “Water brings things to life, including you”
 Produced in 40 locations so that water does
not need to be transported long distances
PNWS-AWWA 2008 Annual Conference
Marketing Approaches
 International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) Ads:
PNWS-AWWA 2008 Annual Conference
Marketing Approaches
 International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) Ads:
PNWS-AWWA 2008 Annual Conference
Marketing Approaches
 International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) Ads:
PNWS-AWWA 2008 Annual Conference
Marketing Summary
 The bottled water companies listed above don’t make any direct
claims toward tap water.
 They indicate that their water has consistently good taste and
high water quality.
 Bottled water is made to be seen as an exotic and healthy
alternative to tap water.
 Bottled water is marketed for its convenience and lifestyle. It is
associated with fit, healthy and attractive individuals (i.e. models
and MLB players)
PNWS-AWWA 2008 Annual Conference
Counter Marketing
 Counter marketing claims
– Mostly driven by cost and the environment
 Bottled water can cost more gallon for gallon than gasoline, and
1,000 times more than tap water.
 2.7 million tons of plastic were used to bottle water as of 2005
(Bottled Water: Pouring Resources Down the Drain - http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/2006/Update51.htm)
 In the US alone more than 1.5 million barrels of oil are consumed
in making the bottles. (http://www.sierraclub.org/committees/cac/water/bottled_water/)
PNWS-AWWA 2008 Annual Conference
Regulations and Standards
Regulations and Standards
 Bottled water is regulated by the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) as a food product
– Interstate commerce only (30-40% of U.S. sold
bottled water)
– States can regulate local production
 40 states do
 Washington State adopted federal language
– Reportedly low staff levels for inspection and
enforcement at federal and state levels
 Low priority, lack of resources lead to infrequent
inspections
 Tap water regulated by EPA or states with primacy
– Washington State DOH has primacy
PNWS-AWWA 2008 Annual Conference
Regulations and Standards
PNWS-AWWA 2008 Annual Conference
Federal Regulations and Standards
 Bottled Water specifics:
 Tap Water specifics:
– Subject to Good Manufacturing,
– Extensive coliform testing,
Quality, and Labeling standards
quarterly chemical testing
– Weekly coliform testing, annual
chemical testing – results only
– More stringent on
public if inspected by FDA
bacteriological testing
– FDA very similar to EPA for IOCs,
– Subject to “Right to Know”
VOCs, SVOCs, and SOCs
annual reports
– More stringent on lead (15 ppb
vs. 5 ppb)
– Source water protection
– Can have coliform up to a limit
required
– Can sell water that fails coliform
– Standards include phthalates
and chemical tests, if labeled as
such (who would buy this?)
– Required to test for Crypto and
– No mechanism for international
Giardia
plant inspections
PNWS-AWWA 2008 Annual Conference
State and Industry Regulations and
Standards
 State of Washington:
– Both bottled and tap regulated by the
Department of Health
– Bottled regulation matches federal rules
 International Bottled Water Association
– Voluntary membership that covers
approximately 80% of U.S. supply
– Standards generally as strict or more
strict than FDA and EPA regulations, but
no real enforcement mechanism
– Annual third party inspection for
members, reporting of results unclear
PNWS-AWWA 2008 Annual Conference
Water Quality Studies
Water Quality Studies
 National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Study, March 1999
 Tested 1,000 bottles from 103 brands.
 Tested against Federal, State (strict California), and Industry standards
 Found 22% violated CA standards, mostly for arsenic and synthetic organic
compounds
 17% exceeded industry guidelines for heterotrophic plate counts (HPC) –
FDA does not consider heterotrophic bacteria to be of public health
significance
 4% exceeded federal standards for fluoride or excessive coliform, but
passed when the same brand was retested
 1 sample exceeded the tap water standard for phthalates (no bottled water
standard)
PNWS-AWWA 2008 Annual Conference
Water Quality Studies
 Case Western Reserve University
– Compared 57 bottles to Cleveland tap water
 39 bottles purer than tap
 15 significantly higher bacteria
 All safe to drink
 Kansas Department of Health and the
Environment
– Tested 80 bottled water samples
 All had detectable levels of various regulated
constituents
 46 had phthalates, 12 exceeding federal safety
levels
PNWS-AWWA 2008 Annual Conference
Plastic Packaging
Plastic Packaging
 What is PET?
– Polyethylene terephthalate
 Petroleum product
– 30% of world’s supply of this
compound goes to bottles
– 60% to clothes
 Relatively easily recycled
– PET denoted by the #1 recycling
symbol
– Consumer Recycling Institute says
86% end up as litter or in landfills
 2.7 tons (world), 1.5 millions barrels of
oil (U.S.)
PNWS-AWWA 2008 Annual Conference
Plastic Packaging
 Phthalates
– Family of plasticizer chemicals
– Used in production of a wide variety of consumer products
– EPA standard of 6 ppb; no FDA standard
– DEHP is one of the most common – used in PVC
manufacturing
 Low water solubility
 Possible carcinogen and endocrine disruptor
– Amount of possible leaching, and effects are unclear
 NRDC study did not find major incidence of DEHP in bottled water.
 Leaching from the bottle or present in the source?
PNWS-AWWA 2008 Annual Conference
Plastic Packaging
 Bisphenol A
– Endocrine disruptor
– Can leach from polycarbonate
containers, including water coolers
and outdoor bottles.
– Most concern about polycarbonate
baby bottles, baby food containers
 Canada recently announced plans to
ban it for baby-related products
 Nalgene announced April 19 that they
will phase out bottles containing
Bisphenol A over the next several
months
PNWS-AWWA 2008 Annual Conference
Plastic Packaging
 Urban Legends?
 E-mails about risks from heating/freezing bottles
– Freezing may actually slow leaching down, although unlikely
to be a big impact either way
– Heating less certain, still under debate
 The greater actual risk:
– Bacteria growth in open/reusable bottles, particularly “singleuse” bottles, since they tend to have irregular surfaces that
are difficult to clean.
PNWS-AWWA 2008 Annual Conference
Implications for Municipal
Water Purveyors
Implications for Municipal Water
Purveyors
 Bottled water and tap water are both generally of high quality
 Important that the public value tap water
– Play the PR game – resist implications that tap water is inferior or
unsafe
 Be aware of and address as possible the “consumer choice” factors
 Talking points:
– Cost of water, environmental factors, energy/material/transportation
efficiency, good quality, sustainability(!)
 Consider selling/distributing bottles or stickers with Utility/District name –
market as a local source of pride
 Make use of available resources – see links
PNWS-AWWA 2008 Annual Conference
Implications for Municipal Water
Purveyors
Seattle Times, March 13, 2008:
To cut down on trash and help the environment, the city of Seattle will stop
buying bottled water, Mayor Greg Nickels announced Thursday (March 13).
The city could save as much as $58,000 a year, officials said, by not
purchasing bottled water for events or water-cooler jugs for its workers.
"It is to really highlight the fact that Seattle has one of the best municipal
water supplies in the country," said Marty McOmber, the mayor's
spokesman. "When you look at the cost of bottled water, both in terms of
financial costs and costs on the environment, it's a pretty clear choice that
using city water is a much better choice."
PNWS-AWWA 2008 Annual Conference
Personal Use Tips
Personal Use Tips
 Don’t reuse single-use bottles – hard to wash
 Do use bottles designed to be reused, and wash regularly to
avoid bacteria growth (non-polycarbonate plastic, stainless
steel, other)
 Leaving open/reusable water bottles in a hot car or other warm
place encourages bacteria growth – avoid that
 If you don’t care for the taste of your local water, try a filter
PNWS-AWWA 2008 Annual Conference
Links
For more information:
FDA: www.fda.gov
EPA: www.epa.gov
IBWA: www.bottledwater.org
NRDC: www.nrdc.org
AWWA: www.drinktap.org
Take Back the Tap:
http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/w
ater/pubs/reports/take-back-the-tap
Tap into Goodness:
http://www.doh.wa.gov/ehp/DW/tapw
ater.htm
Questions?