BUSINESS DAY, Health News 04 Feb 2009 Page 1
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Until every drop is a Blue one

The recent cholera scare has revived fears about water quality. MANDY COLLINS looks at tap water quality and the alternatives BOTTLED water is trendy ? a must-have accessory for those who want to be seen to be taking good care of their health. Those little bottles are everywhere ? at the gym, at the movies, on boardroom tables.
Some question whether they are necessary; others point to the cholera epidemic over our borders that has lead to deaths in SA, and take another swig from their plastic bottles. Still others blame those selfsame plastic bottles for causing health problems.
You need water and plenty of it for your health, but there is increasing confusion about which water is safest and healthiest to drink.
For many South Africans, drinking a glass of water means turning on the taxi Leonardo Manus, manager of drinking water quality regulations for the water affairs and forestry department, says that tap water is safe, subject to where you live.
?In the cities and bigger towns the situation is good,? he says, ?but in some areas, there is still cause for concern.? For this reason, the department has embarked on the extensive Blue Drop certification programme to ensure that citizens are confident about the safety of their drinking water, Manus says.
The department is assessing water around the country; and six provinces have had their initial assessments. The results have been ?interesting?, he says, as even places like Butterworth have fared well, while in some larger towns, even when the tap water is excellent quality; some of the water systems are ?extremely questionable?.
?The Blue Drop programme was established to ensure that municipalities and other water services authorities are doing things properly so we have sustainable, safe drinking water quality,? Manus says, ?and there are nine criteria we look at. And so, for example, in Beaufort West, they scored 80% according to those criteria, which means we have a high level of confidence in the water, but it?s not yet Blue Drop status. To be awarded Blue Drop status you have to meet very stringent criteria and score at least 95%. You can also lose your Blue Drop status if there?s a problem with the water and you don?t take action.? The culmination of this testing will result in a report in May, the first public report on South African drinking water quality; says Manus. ?In the meantime we are constantly monitoring the quality of drinking water.? Bottled water, too, is stringently regulated, according to Charlotte Metcalf, technical director of the South African National Bottled Water Association. ?Bottled water is regulated by the health department and classified as a food,? she says, ?so there are many standards and regulations it has to adhere to.? The association has its own standards, based on European bottled water standards. All members have to comply to display the SANBWA1og0 on their bottles, and retain membership of the association.
?SABS a?so has standards for bottjed water to ensure we have general good manufacturing practice, so from the source to the end product there are stringent specifications,? she says.
The association has ?checks and balances? to ensure that water sources are free of contamination, sustainable and not adversely impacting the environment. ?We do independent audits on members? sources and systems, and test their water on a monthly basis,? she says.
So the water itself might be good, but what about the plastic bottles and the claims that they are carcinogenic, particularly if they get warm?
?People take (internet) blogs and online forums as the truth,? says Metcalf. ?When it comes to polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles, the Cancer Association has cleared them.? Fears about leaving the bottles in the sun are only a concern with temperatures above 50?C or 70?C.
?In terms of PET bottles, there?s nothing harmful that can leach out of them,? says Metcalf.
When reusing bottles, hygiene is the primary concern: ?Like any other bottle, you have to clean it well inbetween uses. We recommend that you reuse it a few times, cleaning it adequately in-between, and then recycle it.? That?s the safety dealt with; what about health concerns?
Is bottled water really ?healthier?, given chemicals like chlorine that are used to treat tap water?
Dr Arien van der Merwe is a Pretoria medical doctor, author and specialist corporate health and weliness service provider. She recommends either filtered water, or natural water from source.
?Your own filtered tap water should have gone through at least four filtration processes,? she says.
Bottled water is often ?dead? water, says Van der Merwe, if no contact with oxygen has been made, that is if it has been sourced from deep below the surface of the earth, for example.
In her view bottled spring water that bubbles up from the source before being collected, is the most ?alive?, healthy water to drink.
Not all bottled waters are created equal, however. Van der Merwe explains that bylaw, bottled water is divided into three groups: ? Natural mineral and spring water, with the emphasis on ?natural?, that is, the water has not been treated and is therefore identical to the source it comes from; ? Water defined by its source, for example rain, glacier or spring. Certain processes (such as filtration) are allowed, but the chemical combination remains the same as the source.
? Prepared water that is stripped of all chemicals and minerals, then minerals, or flavourants and sweeteners are added.
All of which means you should read the label ofyourbottled water to get the best health benefits from the water.
CHOOSINGYCUR WATER PURIFIER I
YOUR municipal filtration system can only do so much, but to make our drinking water safe, chemicals are used to treat the water. A home filtration or purification system can help to purify the water and remove those chemicals. These range from water filter jugs that require a filter to be replaced once a month or so, to systems that can purify the water before it comes out of your tap.
There are many systems available, some accompanied by dubious sales people, others which you can simply buy at your local hardware shop. Your best defence against deceptive sales practices is to do your own homework, and to have a healthy scepticism of advertising and sales pitches.
There?s a lot of bluster around promoting many of these products.
The ones to be most suspicious of, are those that use scare tactics based on supposed water based health risks and contaminants.

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