Drinking water  (213K) + resource sheet (7K)- click to download PDF: download requires Adobe Acrobat

Essential to life, water is everywhere – it even comes in bottles.

People in cars and on bikes, students in class rooms, office workers and posties are sucking on sipper bottles to get their eight glasses a day. Homeowners are installing water filters, and an office or gym without a water cooler is almost non-existent.

The bottled water industry alone has seen New Zealanders consuming about 40 million litres in 2003 at a cost of over $20 million. Consumers are paying more for a litre of water than they pay for petrol – but are they pouring their money down the drain?

People see bottled water as being ‘healthier’ and the good old kitchen tap is getting a bad rap. However some common practices with sipper bottles and home water filters may actually be causing health problems.