What’s Really in Your Bottled Water?
Consumer Reports found toxic PFAS chemicals in several popular water brands, especially carbonated ones
CR recently tested 47 bottled waters, including 35 noncarbonated and 12 carbonated ones. For each product, we tested two to four samples. The tests focused on four heavy metals (arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury), plus 30 PFAS chemicals, which pose special concerns because they can linger in the environment almost indefinitely.
The federal government has issued only voluntary guidance for PFAS, saying the combined amounts for two specific PFAS compounds should be below 70 parts per trillion. A few states have set lower limits, of 12 to 20 ppt, according to American Water Works, an industry group. The International Bottled Water Association, another group, says that it supports federal limits for PFAS and that bottled water should have PFAS levels below 5 ppt for any single compound and 10 ppt for more than one. Some experts say the cutoff for total PFAS levels should be even lower, 1 ppt.
Noncarbonated Water
Most of the noncarbonated products CR tested had detectable levels of PFAS, but only two—Tourmaline Spring and Deer Park—exceeded 1 part per trillion.
Get ‘Forever Chemicals’ Out of Bottled Water!
Carbonated Water
All carbonated water that CR tested fell below legal limits for heavy metals, and none had arsenic levels above CR’s recommended maximum of 3 parts per billion. But many products had measurable amounts of PFAS.
There are a few possible reasons. Phil Brown, at the PFAS Project Lab at Northeastern University in Boston, says the carbonation process could be a factor. The source water could also have more PFAS, or treatment used by some brands doesn’t remove PFAS to below 1 part per trillion.
CR heard back from all companies with PFAS levels above 1 ppt, except for Bubly. La Croix and Canada Dry said levels in their products were well below current standards or requirements. Topo Chico, made by Coca-Cola and with the highest PFAS levels in CR’s tests, said it would “continue to make improvements to prepare for more stringent standards in the future.” Nestlé, maker of Poland Spring and Perrier, said that its recent testing did not detect PFAS and that it supports efforts to set federal limits. LaCroix and Polar challenged how CR arrived at our total PFAS amounts. For details, read CR’s methodology for testing bottled water (PDF).
Brian Ronholm, CR’s director of food policy, says that PFAS in carbonated water highlights the need for the federal government to set science-based limits for PFAS compounds in tap and bottled drinking water. “The fact that so many brands had total PFAS below 1 ppt shows it is feasible to get to more protective levels,” he says.
(Whole Foods) Spring Water
Purified Water
Natural Alkaline Water
Natural Purified Water
Natural Spring Water
Water
Hydration Natural
Enhanced Water
Natural Spring Water
Natural Purified Water
Natural Purified Alkaline Water
Natural Spring Water
Natural Artesian Water
Alkaline Spring Water
Purified Drinking Water
Natural Purified Water
Natural Spring Water
100% Spring Water
(CVS) Purified Water
(Costco Purified Water)
Natural Purified Water
Spring Water
Natural Purified Water
Natural Purified Water
Natural Spring Water
Purified Water
Ultra Pure Water
Natural Spring Water
Natural Spring Water
Natural Enhanced Water
Alkaline Water + Electrolytes
Hawaiian Volcanic Water
Natural Spring Water
Natural Spring Water (1.21 ppt)
Sacred Living Water (4.64 ppt.)
(Whole Foods) (9.53 ppb)
Natural Spring Water (1.21 ppt)
Sacred Living Water (4.64 ppt.)
(Whole Foods) (9.53 ppb)
(PARTS PER TRILLION)
Editor’s Note: This article also appeared in the November 2020 issue of Consumer Reports magazine. Bottled water testing for this project was made possible by the Forsythia Foundation, an organization focused on promoting public health and reducing chemical exposure.
Consumer Reports has a long history of investigating America’s water. In 1974, we published a landmark three-part series (PDF) revealing that water purification systems in many communities had not kept pace with increasing levels of pollution and that many community water supplies might be contaminated. Our work helped lead to Congress enacting the Safe Drinking Water Act in December 1974.
More than 45 years later, America is still struggling with a dangerous divide between those who have access to safe and affordable drinking water and those who don’t. Communities of color often are affected disproportionately by this inequity. Consumer Reports remains committed to exposing the weaknesses in our country’s water system, including raising questions about Americans’ reliance on bottled water as an alternative—and the safety and sustainability implications of this dependence.
In addition to our ongoing investigations into bottled water, we are proud to be partnering with our readers and those of the Guardian US, another institution dedicated to journalism in the public interest, to test for dangerous contaminants in tap water samples from more than 100 communities around the country. The Guardian and CR will also be publishing related content from Ensia, a nonprofit newsroom focused on environmental issues and solutions.
America’s Water Crisis is the name we are jointly giving to this project and the series of articles we co-publish on the major challenges many in the U.S. face getting access to safe, clean, and affordable water. We will share the results of our upcoming test findings with you. In the meantime, you can join our social media conversation around water under the hashtag #waterincrisis.
Chief Content Officer, Consumer Reports
