Water: bottling your own

Last Saturday there was an interesting article in Canada's National Newspaper, The Globe and Mail, on drinking water. Well, more specifically on bottled water. Deep in the recesses of my brain I knew I had read somewhere that Pepsi-Cola and Coca-Cola both bottle municipal tap water and re-sell it, one as Aquafina and the other as Dasani. They get their municipal tap water from Mississauga and Brampton.

I am grateful to the author of this article, for bringing the wet reality more strongly into my consciousness. I don't use bottled water very often because we have a filter at the source of the municipal water entrance to our home. I do enjoy the reduced chlorine taste this filtration process provides. When I am traveling, or I forget to put water in my car cup before I leave the house, I buy bottled water. Often it is Dasani or Aqaufina. Really, I'd be getting the same product if I entered a Tim Horton's or Starbucks and asked for a cup filled with tap water. According to the article, if I just stir the water and let it sit for a bit the chlorine taste will be gone.

As a coach, drinking plenty of water is something I’ve recommend more times than I could ever count. I suggest water when people tell me they hit a low point during the afternoon, or when they experience muscle cramps during a training walk or race. The first line of defense should be to drink some water. Headaches, muscle fatigue, a dry cough and many other symptoms of dehydration are experienced every day by people who have come to accept these feelings of low energy as normal. A single glass of water may be all that is needed to feel good.

Still, whether we need bottled water to feel good is controversial. Several of the plastics from which these bottles, including the polyethylene terephthalate (#1 PET) of single-use popularity, are manufactured leach chemicals into their contents. Essentially, if your water tastes like plastic, you are drinking the chemicals that have gone into making that plastic.

In recent years, sports enthusiasts have taken to using the harder polycarbonate bottle, the most popular brand being Nalgene. (Several of us got really nice versions of this in our race kits for the Ottawa Full Marathon, two years ago!) Now, there is some evidence that the hard #7 polycarbonate plastic in these bottles may leach an artificial estrogen into its contents.

What’s an ethical, environmentally-minded, health-conscious power walking addict to do? Well, general consensus seems to suggest that we do not use single-use bottles again for re-fills. Also, common environmental sense suggests that we try to reduce the number of plastic bottles we buy.

Experts are now recommending the use of polypropylene (#5 PP), which is not known to leach harmful substances, as well as high density polyethylene#2 HDPE and low density polyethylene#4 LDPE for refillable water bottles.

Some people are not waiting for the next bad-news scenario on these plastics and are switching to stainless or glass containers. Glass might be a bit tricky for power walkers and stainless steel can get heavy, so ultimately the decision is yours.

If you are a power walker trying to stay on top of your hydration needs, your long-term health may be worth some thoughtful consideration as to how you are storing your water.

Finally, don’t forget…you can also worry your way sick! Above all: get outside, get power walking!