By contrast, when a company wants to launch a spring water brand, they have to undergo a far more complicated and costly process. That includes finding a groundwater source and building the machinery to pump the water up and the infrastructure to transport it to a processing facility—as well as surmounting regulatory hurdles to get the water tested for safety and approved.
Shutoffs have continued since then, but officials concluded in early March that a reprieve was needed to try to help residents during the coronavirus outbreak. Ricky Reynolds is one of the beneficiaries.
It should have been a happy occasion. Reynolds had been homeless, bouncing between family and friends, so it was a relief to get his own place—until he tried to get the water bill put in his name. And the city refused to turn on his water unless he paid 10 percent of the bill, he says, a monumental demand for someone living on Social Security income.
Reynolds was never able to pay the bill. In the months before the city finally restored his water service during the pandemic, Reynolds says, he had to fill up containers with water from family members, then haul them home.
And he bought bottled water whenever he could—including, he says, Dasani, which may have been made around the corner at the Coca-Cola plant. These companies are not a priority target for service interruption due to their payment history and ability to pay. For bottlers, a single municipal source can generate significant revenue, according to records CR obtained.
Pepsi has at least 12 bottling facilities that make Aquafina in the U. Coca-Cola has more than 30 that make Dasani. That number counts not just Aquafina but also all Pepsi beverages made at the plant, including soda and bottled tea. Coca-Cola has a seemingly good deal in Detroit, too. That same year, Coca-Cola received A spokesperson for Coca-Cola told CR that it financially supports Detroit and other cities in which it operates by paying commercial rates for the water it uses.
But, at least in Detroit, the rate the city charges bottlers and city residents is the same. Environmentalists and consumer advocates say that, as a result, bottled water companies are effectively being subsidized by taxpayers.
The IBWA disputes that characterization. His group drafted a model law that would, among other things, charge bottling companies a royalty or fee on the sale of water, with the proceeds going to a state fund. Others are offering different ways to raise funds from bottlers that can be put toward the cost of maintaining water system infrastructure or providing financial aid to residents behind on their water bill.
One idea is for bottlers to pay a tax on their product, or for municipalities to assess one at the point of sale.
At the time, Michigan lawmakers were considering a tax of 5 cents per gallon on water harvested from groundwater by bottlers, who would pay the tax, with the intention of generating revenue for a dedicated fund for water infrastructure costs. But the bill died in the legislature. He suggests a tax for bottlers could be used to help low-income residents struggling to pay their water bills. She points to a recent report by the California State Water Resources Control Board that examined the possibility of using a bottled water tax at the point of sale to fund a financial aid program for low-income residents.
But Nick Leonard, executive director of the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center, a nonprofit based in Detroit, says that additional measures are needed to help residents unable to pay.
They would ultimately benefit utilities, he adds, by generating more revenue for the utility because more residents would be able to keep up with their bills. The Environmental Protection Agency and World Health Organization say that the novel coronavirus has not been detected in municipal supplies, and risk of it happening is low.
Water filters are an option for those who want to exercise added caution, as well. In the past, CR has reviewed filters for their ability to remove certain potentially dangerous contaminants. Consumer advocates and activists say that while the move to suspend shutoffs is encouraging, a long-term solution is necessary. That was a theme echoed by public health experts and advocates at a teleconference earlier this month on the move to ban shutoffs in Detroit during the pandemic, including Monica Lewis-Patrick, president of We the People of Detroit, a human rights and water advocacy group.
In , 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. Now, there's even a private Subreddit for fans of the drink to post about it "without being criticized. Despite viral pictures online, the Coca-Cola representative added in a statement that the company has recently had an increase in demand.
A moderator for the HydroHomies subreddit told Insider in an email that it's Dasani's association with Coca-Cola that contributes to the vitriol. Martin Riese, the world's leading "water sommelier," explained his own dislike for Dasani water in an interview with Mel Magazine. Dasani is made from purified water by using "reverse osmosis filtration" — technically, that's tap water. Any bottled water made with reverse osmosis filtration comes from "municipal" sources, which means the tap, according to the Food and Drug Administration FDA.
While the company has faced some backlash for using tap water in its bottled product, that uproar can be attributed to social perceptions towards drinking water in the US, according to a research paper published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Peter Gleick, the author of "Bottled and Sold: The Story Behind our Obsession with Bottled Water," estimates that around 50 percent of brands use mostly tap water in their bottles.
After they process and filter municipal tap water, Dasani adds certain minerals and salts into the mixture. Magnesium sulfate, potassium chloride, and salt are added to the water, according to Dasani's nutrition label. Dasani's ingredients aren't so different from other bottled waters like Aquafina, its Pepsi-run competitor, and Nestle Pure Life. David Sedlak, co-director of the Berkeley Water Center , said that these factors can contribute to a person's like or dislike of the water.
So, when YouTube videos like Dawson's allege Dasani water makes them "more thirsty," this is likely just psychosomatic. Though Dawson and others on YouTube claimed that Dasani water makes a "fizz" sound upon opening that other bottles don't make, Gleick said that doesn't really add up — but it's probably just the sound of the bottle "relieving pressure.
As for whether or not there's some other mysterious, secret ingredient added in to cause that "fizz" sound, Gleick doesn't think it's possible that there's any added carbonation. They put the water in the bottle and the machine seals the bottle, and then that's it," he said. For you. But the reprieve is only temporary. A Detroit spokesperson said all customers who called to enroll in a program that would turn their water back on during the pandemic had either been restored or were in the process of a restoration.
This has consumer advocates worried. By , those numbers had essentially flipped, industry data shows, with purified water now dominating the market. Beulah Walker, chief coordinator for the local not-for-profit group Hydrate Detroit, which assists local residents without running water, pointed out the irony of the situation for residents who have lost their water service at home and may turn to bottled water — possibly Aquafina or Dasani made with city tap water — as an alternative.
Shutoffs have continued since then, but officials concluded in early March that a reprieve was needed to help residents during the coronavirus outbreak. Ricky Reynolds is one of the beneficiaries. It should have been a happy occasion. Reynolds had been homeless, bouncing between family and friends, so it was a relief to get his own place — until he tried to get the water bill put in his name.
Reynolds was never able to pay the bill.
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