CHAPTER - 3

BOTTLED WATER INDUSTRY – A PROFILE

Today bottled water industry is one of the fastest growing

industrial sectors in India. The industry had an estimated

turnover of Rs. 10 billion (Rs. 1,000 crores) in 2002. Between

1999 -2004, the Indian bottled water market grew at a

Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 25 per cent -

highest in the world. Today the industry stands tall with an

annual turnover of Rs.1800 crores (Chandrabhushan 2006).

Figure 3.1

Growth in Bottled Water Demand in India

Source: Industrial Survey 2005 (Frontline, April 21, 2006)

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Though total annual bottled water consumption has

risen rapidly in recent times i.e., it has tripled between 1999 –

2004. The per capita bottled water consumption in India is

still low-less than 5 litres a year as compared to global average

of 24 litres.

Making bottled water today is a cottage industry in the

country. Despite large number of small producers, the

industry is dominated by big players like Parle-Bisleri, Coca-

Cola, Pepsi-co, Parle-Agro, Mohan Meakins etc. However Parle-

Bisleri hold 40 per cent of the market share, Kinley holds

20-25 per cent followed by Aqua-fina with 10 per cent. The

small producers account for 20-25 per cent of market share.

The reason that companies do not have to bear the cost

of the main raw material water has made the industry highly

profitable. The Coca Cola’s bottling plant at Kala-Dera near

Jaipur which is also a drought prone area gets its water free

except for a tiny cess for discharging the waste-water. It

extracts half a million litres of water every day at a cost of 14

paise per 1000 litres. So a Rs.10 Kinley water has raw

material cost of just 0.02 – 0.03 paise. It takes at least two –

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three litres of ground water to make one litre of bottled water

(Chandrabhushan 2006).

Figure 3.2

Cost of producing 1 litre branded bottled drinking water

Total cost excluding

labour, marketing and tax – Rs. 2.85-4.25

Selling cost – Rs. 10-12.0

Source: Center for Science and Environment (CSE) 2003-04

Note: Costs vary from place to place and with the size of

manufacturer. (Compiled during 2003-2004)

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Bottled water is sold in a variety of packages; pouches

and glasses, 330 ml bottles, 500 ml bottles, one litre

bottles,two litre bottles and even 20-50 litre bulk water packs.

The formal bottled water business in India can be divided

broadly into 3 segments in terms of cost: premium natural

mineral water, natural mineral water and packaged drinking

water.

Premium natural mineral water includes brands such as

Evian, San Pellegrino and Perrier which are imported and

priced between Rs.80 and Rs110 a litre. Natural mineral

water, with brands such as Himalayan and catch is priced

around Rs.20 a litre. Packaged drinking water which is

nothing but treated water is the biggest segment and includes

brands such as Parle Bisleri, Coca-Cola’s Kinley and Pepsico’s

Aqua-fina. They are priced in the range of Rs. 12-15 per litre.

The 1800 licensed bottled water units across the country

pay a mere 30 paise per 1000 litres of water as cess at

present. Realizing the super-low input cost, a sub-committee

set up by the Water Resources Ministry stated that those

industries which use water as basic raw material pay a higher

cess than other water utilizing sectors. This is quite necessary

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compared to the basic fact that water is not cheap even in the

USA – home to coca-cola and Pepsi. The average cost of

industrial water in the USA was 21/litre in 1990. It was

90/1000 litres in U.K and 76/1000 in Canada.

Treatment and purification accounts for the next major

cost. Even with a treatment system of reverse osmosis, cost of

treatment is a maximum of 25 paise/litre. Therefore, the cost

of producing 1 litre of packaged drinking water in India

without including the labour cost is just Rs.0.25. In a

nutshell, in manufacturing bottled water, the major costs are

not in the production of treated and purified water but in the

packaging and marketing of it. People pay about 4,200 times

more when they pay Rs.15 for a bottle of water

(Veerendrakumar M.P., 2007b). Bottled water is 250 to 10,000

times more expensive than municipal water. (Chappelle Frank

2005).

The cost of a bottle along with the cap and the carton is

the single biggest cost between Rs.2.50 and Rs 3.75 for a one

litre bottle. For water sold in big plastic jars (20-25 litres) or

in pouches, this cost is much lower and because of this

companies sell water at even Re.1 a litre in a 20-25 litre jar

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and still make profits. Labour and establishment and

marketing costs are highly variable and depends on the

location and size of companies. Informal discussion with

industry members reveal that the gross profit of this industry

can be as much as between 25 and 50 per cent.

Since both the demand and scarcity of water has been

on the rise, the increasing possibilities of marketing water

have been attracting Multinational Corporations. The French

Companies Vivendi and Suez are the two important players in

the water market. Their empire is spread over 120 nations in

the world. The Spanish MNC Ogus De Barcelona, the British

Company Thames Water, Bi Water, United Utilities etc., are

the other major water monopolies.

In developed countries demand is driven by a variety of

factors including convenience, the perception that bottled

water may be safer than municipal water, and taste

preferences. Packaging and advertising work to foster these

perceptions and brand bottled water in ways similar to

branded soft drinks. Though many municipalities in the

developed world provide high quality, highly regulated potable

water, occasional problems with contamination are often

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widely publicised. Violations of tap water standards are

openly reported in United States. University of Cincinnati

recently completed a “Tap water Quality Analysis” for major

U.S cities. While most cities had what is considered “Safe” tap

water, contaminants ranging from bacteria to heavy metals

were present in the tap water. The actual or perceived threat

from studies like this continue to drive up bottled water sales

annually (http://www.ug.edu/gissa/projects/drinkingwater).

In most developed countries like the U.S.A., the

regulations governing tap water quality, monitoring and

regulation are more stringent than those for bottled water,

where monitoring is less frequent and strict. In the United

States, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sets

standard for tap water and the Food and Drug Administration

sets standard for bottled water.

In developing countries demand is driven by similar

factors but further increased by the lack of potable ground

water in many areas, the lack of reliable or safe municipal

water in many urban areas, chemical and organic pollution of

ground and well water and convenience relative to boiling or

otherwise treating accessible but potentially contaminated

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water. As in richer countries, advertising also contributes to

water sales in developing countries. Though bottled water

may provide an alternative to unsafe drinking water, it does

only for those able to afford it; many of the world’s poorest

people cannot afford bottled water (UN World Water

Development Report 2006). The financial assistance provided

by International Organizations like World Bank and Asian

Development Bank have been tied to the demands for

modernization and for including water and electricity in cost

recovery items which is part of the neo-liberal culture

(Indushekhar 2008). This has boosted and supported the view

that water is a commodity like any other. The rising prices of

water combined with its lower availability leads to lower

sanitation and higher incidence of epidemics. Such deceases

are more likely to strike the poorer sections who are

considered insignificant from the point of view of the market

(Babu Abhilash 2008).

3.1. Global Review

Globally, hot drinks dominate world consumption of

beverages, with an estimated 495 billion litres drunk in 2003

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(global drinks.com). When examining trends for bottled water,

it is useful to create a context with other beverages.

Table 3.1

Global Bottled Water Growth 1997-2007

Year

Bottled water

(in million litres)

Other soft Drinks (in

million litres)

Alcoholic Drinks

(in million litres)

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

90,000

1,00,000

1,10,000

1,20,000

1,30,000

1,45,000

1,55,000

1,60,000

1,75,000

1,80,000

2,00,000

2,55,000

2,60,000

2,70,000

2,80,000

2,90,000

3,00,000

3,10,000

3,25,000

3,40,000

3,45,000

3,55,000

1,70,000

1,72,000

1,75,000

1,78,000

1,80,000

1,85,000

1,90,000

2,00,000

2,10,000

2,12,000

2,15,000

Source: globaldrinks.com (zenith international 2003)

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Figure 3.3

Global Bottled Water Growth 1997-2007

0

50000

100000

150000

200000

250000

300000

350000

400000

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Bottled water(in million litres)

Other softdrinks(in million litres)

AlcoholicDrinks(in million litres)

Source: globaldrinks.com (zenith international 2003)

The above figure compares bottled water growth with rest of

the soft drinks segment and with alcoholic drinks over 1997-

2002 and projects growth figures from 2003 to 2007. By the

end of this period, bottled water overtakes alcohol and will be

well over 50 per cent of the volume of other soft drinks (Senior

Dorothy and Nick Dege 2005).

3.1.1. Giants in Bottled Water Industry

The biggest global bottled water companies include

Nestle Water, Dan one, Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Co. Share of

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these 4 companies in the bottled water market is 30 per cent

and is constantly rising. (Senior Dorothy and Nick Dege 2005).

In the 1970s 300 million gallons of bottled water had been

sold in plastic bottles and by 1998 the sales of bottled water

had risen to more than 600 million gallons. (Shiva Vandana

2007).

Table 3.2

The Global Companies’ Share of Bottled Water market

Year

Percentage Share of Bottled Water Market

Nestle Danone Coca- Cola

Pepsico

1999 10 8 4 2

2000 10 8 5 3

2001 11 10 5 2

2002 12 10 5 3

Source: Zenith International 2003

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Figure 3.4

The Global Companies’ Share of Bottled Water Market

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

1999 2000 2001 2002

Pepsico

Coca-cola

Danone

Nestle

Source: Zenith International 2003

The launch and expansion of company’s own brands eg.

in case of Coca-Cola, Dasani and Bonaqua; for Pepsico-acqua-

fina and acqua-minerale. The result is a marked switch into

own water brands as opposed to bottler-owned products.

3.2. Technology of Bottled Water

The bottled water industry has become a vital and

vigorous sector of the beverage world in developed and

developing countries worldwide. More and more bottled water

is used in the home and office and in densely populated areas

where the quality of the municipal water is more affected

chemically and organoleptically. According to the 2007 WHO

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report, 1.1 billion people lack access to an improved drinking

water supply, 88 per cent of the 4 billion annual cases of

diarrheal disease are attributed to unsafe water and

inadequate sanitation and hygiene and 1.8 million people die

from diarrheal diseases each year. Reducing deaths from

waterborne diseases is a major public health goal in

developing countries. The standard for drinking water quality

has been laid down by government in accordance with the

standards laid down by WHO and other international

organizations (Soman 2007).

The main quality problems encountered by water sector

in India are due to excess fluoride, arsenic, iron, lead, nitrate

and salinity. Most common problem is the infiltration of

brackish water in a fresh aquifer* due to overexploitation of

this aquifer. Water treatment objectives include removal of the

non-dissolved elements, removal of undesirable biological

elements, removal of undesirable chemical elements and in

some cases addition of valuable elements. Water treatment

processes include filtration, membrane processes, absorption,

ion exchange, chemical oxidation, biological process and

* A geological formation that store a large amount of water which may come to the surface through

a spring or a well.

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microbiological treatments. The susceptibility of water to

change chemically, microbiologically or organoleptically upon

storage stands for a further challenge to the bottling industry.

3.2.1. Sources of Water:-

1. Groundwater

The water emerging from some deep underground sources

is called ground water. Water may have fallen as rain many

years ago. Soil and rock layers naturally filter the ground

water to a high degree of clarity before it is pumped to the

treatment plant. Such water may emerge as spring or may be

extracted from boreholes or wells. Pathogenic bacteria or

pathogenic protozoa are typically absent in deep ground water,

but it is rich in Total Dissolved Solids† especially carbonates

and sulphates of calcium and magnesium. Depending on the

strata through which the water has flowed, other ions may

also be present including chloride and bicarbonate. There may

be requirement to reduce the iron or magnesium content of

the water to make it pleasant for drinking.

† The Minerality water showing the quantity of minerals dissolved in it.

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2. Upland lakes and reservoirs:-

Typically located in the headquarter of river systems,

upland reservoirs are usually sited above any human

habitation and may be surrounded by a protective zone to

restrict the opportunities for contamination. Bacteria and

pathogen levels are usually low but some bacteria, protozoa or

algae will be present.

3. Rivers, canals and low land reservoirs:-

Low land surface water will have a significant bacterial

load and may also contain algae, suspended solids and a

variety of dissolved constituents.

3. Atmospheric water generation:-

It is a new technology that can provide high quality

drinking water by extracting water from the air by cooling the

air and thus condensing water vapour.

4. Desalination:-

Another source of water is desalination of sea water by

distillation or reverse osmosis.

3.2.2. Water Purification

Water Purification is the process of removing undesirable

chemicals, materials and biological contaminants from raw

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water. The goal is to produce water fit for a specific purpose

like human consumption. The purification process of water

may reduce the concentration of matter including suspended

particles, parasites, bacteria, algae, viruses, fungi and a range

of dissolved material derived from surfaces that water may

have made contact with after falling as rain. The processes

below are the ones commonly used in water purification

plants. Some or most may be used depending on the scale of

the plant and quality of the raw water.

a. Pre-treatment

1. Pumping and containment

Water is pumped from its source or directed into pipes

or holding tanks. To avoid adding contaminants to the water,

their physical infra-structure must be made from appropriate

materials and constructed so that accidental contamination

does not occur.

2. Screening

Surface water is screened to remove large debris such

as sticks, leaves, trash and other large particles which may

interfere with subsequent purification steps. Deep

underground water does not need screening before other

purification steps.

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3. Storage

Water from rivers may also be stored in bank side

reservoirs for periods between a few days and many months to

allow material biological purification to take place.

4. Pre-conditioning

Water rich in hardness salts are treated with soda-ash

(sodium carbonate) to precipitate calcium carbonate out

utilizing the common-ion effect.

5. Chlorination

In many plants the incoming water is chlorinated to

minimize the growth of fouling organisms on the pipe work

and tanks.

b. Treatment of water

Widely varied techniques are available to remove the fine

solids, micro organisms and some dissolved inorganic and

organic materials. The choice of method will depend on the

quality of water being treated, the cost of the treatment

process and the quality standards expected of the processed

water.

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1. pH‡ adjustment

Distilled water has a pH of 7(neither alkaline nor acidic)

and sea water has an average pH of 8.3 (slightly

alkaline). If the water is acidic (lower than 7), lime, soda

ash or sodium hydroxide is added to raise the pH. For

somewhat acidic, alkaline water, forced draft

degassifiers are the cheapest way to lower the pH, as

the process raises the pH by stripping dissolved Co2

from water. Lime is commonly used for pH adjustment

for municipal water, or at the start of a treatment plant

for processing water as it is cheap. Making the water

slightly alkaline ensures that coagulation and

flocculation process work effectively and also helps to

minimize the risk of lead being dissolved from lead

pipes.

2. Flocculation

Flocculation is a process which clarifies the water.

Clarifying means removing any turbidity or colour so

that the water is clear and colourless. Clarification is

done by causing a precipitate to form in the water which

can be removed using simple physical methods. Initially

the precipitate forms as very small particles but as the

water is gently stirred, these particles stick together to

‡ Potential Hydrogen, measures water’s level of acidity or alkalinity.

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form bigger particles-this process is sometime called

flocculation. Many of the small particles that were

originally present in the raw water absorb onto the

surface of these small precipitate particles and so get

incorporated into the large particles that coagulation

produces. In this way the coagulated precipitate takes

most of the suspended matter out of the water and is

then filtered off.

3. Sedimentation

Water exiting the flocculation basin may enter the

sedimentation basin, also called a clarifier or settling

basin. It is a large tank with slow flow, allowing floc to

settle to the bottom. The sedimentation basin is best

located close to the flocculation basin so the transit

between does not permit settlement or foc-break up.

Sedimentation basins may be rectangular, where water

flows from end to end or circular where flow is from the

centre outward. The amount of floc that settles out of

the water is dependent on basin retention time and on

basin depth. A deep basin will allow more floc to settle

out than a shallow basin. As particles settle to the

bottom of the basin, a layer of sludge is formed on the

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floor of the tank. These layers of the sludge must be

removed and treated. The amount of the sludge that is

generated is often 3 per cent to 5 per cent of total

volume of water. The tank is equipped with mechanical

cleaning device that continually clean the bottom of the

tank.

4. Filtration

The water is filtered as the final step to remove

remaining suspended particles and unsettled floc. The

most common type of filter is rapid sand filter. Water

moves vertically through sand which often has a layer of

activated carbon or anthracite coal above the sand. The

top layer removes organic compounds which contribute

to taste and odor. Most particles pass through surface

layers but are trapped in pore spaces or adhere to sand

particles. Effective filtration extends into the depth of

the filter. Some water treatment plants also employ

pressure filters. These works on the principle of rapid

gravity filter - the filter medium is enclosed in a steel

vessel and the water is forced through it under

pressure.

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Membrane filters are widely used for the filtering

drinking water by the bottled water industry. These are

effective forms of tertiary treatment where it is desired

to reuse the water for industry, for limited domestic

purposes or before discharging the water into a river

but no filtration can remove substances that are

actually dissolved in the water such as phosphorous,

nitrates and heavy metal ions.

Slow sand filters may be used where there is sufficient

land and space as the water must be passed very slowly

through the filters. The filters are carefully constructed

using graded layers of sand with the coarsest sand

along with some gravel, at the bottom and finest sand at

the top. Drains at the base convey treated water away

for disinfection.

5. Removal of ions and other dissolved substances

Ultra filtration membranes use polymer membranes

with chemically formed microscopic pores that can be

used to filter out dissolved substances avoiding the use

of coagulants. The type of membrane media determines

how much pressure is needed to drive the water

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through and what sizes of micro-organism can be

filtered out.

6. Ion Exchange

Ion exchange system use ion-exchange resin or zeolite

packed columns to replace unwanted ions. The most

common case is water softening consisting of removal of

Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions replacing them with Na+ or K+ ions.

Ion exchange is also used to remove toxic ions such as

nitrate, lead, mercury, arsenic and many others.

7. Reverse Osmosis

Reverse osmosis is a method which removes many

types of large atomic molecules from smaller molecules

by forcing the liquid at high pressure through a

membrane with pores just big enough to allow small

molecules to pass through. It is similar to membrane

filtration. But there are key differences between reverse

osmosis and filtration. Removal mechanism in

membrane filtration is straining or size exclusion,

achieving perfect exclusion of particles regardless of

operational parameters such as influent pressure and

concentration. But RO involves a diffusive mechanism

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so that separation efficiency is dependent on influent

solute concentration, pressure and water flux rate. It

works by using pressure to force a solution through a

membrane, retaining the solute on one side and

allowing the pure solvent to pass to the other side. This

is the reverse of the normal osmosis process which is

the natural movement of solvent from an area of low

solute concentration through membrane to an area of

high solute concentration when no external pressure is

applied.

8. Disinfection

Disinfection is achieved both by filtering out harmful

microbes and also by adding disinfectant chemicals in

the last step in purifying drinking water. Water is

disinfected to kill any pathogens which pass through

the filter. Possible pathogens include viruses, bacteria

and protozoa. Following the introduction of any

chemical disinfecting agent, the water is usually held in

temporary storage called a contact tank or clear well to

allow disinfection to be completed.

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(i) Ozone disinfection

It is an effective method to inactivate harmful protozoa.

It also works well against almost all other pathogens.

Ozone is made by passing oxygen through ultraviolet

light or a cold electrical discharge. To use ozone as a

disinfectant, it must be created on side and added to

water by bubble contact. Ozonisation adds no taste and

odour to water and it leaves no disinfectant residual in

the water. Ozone has been used in drinking water

plants since 1906 when the first individual ozonation

plant was built in Nice, France.

(ii) Ultra-violet disinfection:

Ultra violet light is very effective at inactivating cysts, as

long as the water has a low level of colour, so the UV

rays can pass through without being absorbed. Like

ozone treatment, it also leaves no residual disinfectant

in the water. It is sometimes necessary to add a

residual disinfectant after they are used.

(iii) Solar water disinfection:

One low cost method of disinfecting water can be

implemented locally available materials is solar-

disinfection.

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c. Additional treatment options

1. Water fluoridation: in many areas fluoride is added to

water with the goal of preventing tooth decay. Fluoride is

usually added after the disinfection process. In the U.S.,

fluoridation is usually accomplished by the addition

of hexafluorosilicic acid, which decomposes in water,

yielding fluoride ions.

2. Water conditioning: This is a method of reducing the

effects of hard water. Hardness salts are deposited in

water systems subject to heating because the

decomposition of bicarbonate ions creates carbonate

ions that crystallize out of the saturated solution of

calcium or magnesium carbonate. Water with high

concentrations of hardness salts can be treated with

soda ash (sodium carbonate) which precipitates out the

excess salts, through the common-ion effect, producing

calcium carbonate of very high purity. The precipitated

calcium carbonate is traditionally sold to the

manufacturers of toothpaste. Several other methods of

industrial and residential water treatment are claimed

(without general scientific acceptance) to include the use

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of magnetic or/and electrical fields reducing the effects

of hard water.

3. Plumb solvency reduction: In areas with naturally

acidic waters of low conductivity (i.e. surface rainfall in

upland mountains of igneous rocks), the water may be

capable of dissolving lead from any lead pipes that it is

carried in. The addition of small quantities

of phosphate ion and increasing the pH slightly both

assist in greatly reducing plumbo-solvency by creating

insoluble lead salts on the inner surfaces of the pipes.

4. Radium Removal: Some groundwater sources

contain radium, a radioactive chemical element. Radium

can be removed by ion exchange, or by water

conditioning. The back flush or sludge that is produced

is, however, a low-level radioactive waste.

5. Fluoride Removal: Although fluoride is added to water

in many areas, some areas of the world have excessive

levels of natural fluoride in the source water. Excessive

levels can be toxic or cause undesirable cosmetic effects

such as staining of teeth. Fluoride is also a known

carcinogen. One method of reducing fluoride levels is

through treatment with activated alumina.

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3.3. Health Hazards of Bottled Water

Bottled water is considered refreshing, Calorie free,

convenient to carry around, tastier than some tap water and a

lot healthier than sugary sodas. According to Eric Goldstein,

co-director of the urban programme at the Natural Resources

Defense Council (NRDC), (USA), a non-profit organization

devoted to protecting health and environment, in the USA it is

proved that more than 25 per cent of bottled water comes from

a public source (Jemmott Janett Majeski, 2008).

Some bottled water comes from sparkling springs and

other natural sources. Often the water is treated, purified and

sold to us, often at a thousand fold increase in price. Most

people are surprised to learn that they’re drinking glorified

tap-water, but bottlers aren’t required to list the source on the

label.

Most people drink both tap water and bottled water. But

some bottled water may not be as pure as they expect

(Jemmott Janett Majeski, 2008). In 1999, the Natural

Resources Defence Council in the USA tested more than 1000

bottles of 103 brands of water. While noting that most bottled

water is safe, the organizations found that at least one sample

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of a third of the brands contained bacterial or chemical

contaminants including carcinogens, in levels exceeding state

or industry standards. An interesting fact is that recently in

the USA, the Pepsi company had to admit and declare that the

water contained in its ‘Aquafina’ brand was just tap water.

Tests indicate that bottled waters are not necessarily safer

than tap water. Some companies process tap water, package it

and sell it to us at a huge profit (Clarke Tony 2005). High

temperatures in the storage space where the bottled water is

stored has a potential risk. Most bottled water comes in Poly

ethylene Terephthalate bottles (Janet Majeski Jemmot, 2008).

The bottles are generally safe, but scientists assert that when

stored in hot or warm temperatures, the plastic may leach

chemicals into the water. If stored near gas fumes, pesticides

and other chemicals, it could affect the smell and taste of the

water. Leaving bottled water out in the car changes the

chemical equilibrium so that the materials from the plastic go

into the water faster.

Experts have raised a warning about chemicals like

Antimony which is a toxic material used in making PET.

Scientists in Germany found that longer a bottle of water

remains in a store or at home, the more antimony it develops.

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While we struggle to cut down on our consumption of

fossil fuels, bottled water increases them. Virgin petroleum is

used to produce more PET bottles, the more bottles we use,

the more virgin petroleum will be needed to create new bottles.

Fossil fuels are burned to fill the bottles and distribute them.

The energy used each year for making bottles needed to meet

the demand for bottled water is quite high. In the USA, it is

equivalent to more than 17 million barrels of oil, enough to

fuel 1 million cars for a year (Janet Majeski Jemmott, 2008).

Shipping bottles can cause carbon pollution to spill into the

water and spread into the air. Overall the average energy cost

to make the plastic, fill the bottle, transport it to the market

and then deal with waste would be “ like filling up a quarter of

every bottle with oil(Peter Gleick, An expert on water policy

and Director at the Pacific Institute in Oak Land, California)“

Most bottled water does not contain added fluoride. Kids

are drinking more bottled water and less fluoridated tap water.

Some say that is behind the recent rise in dental decay.

Then there is the waste of water itself. According to

Todd Jarvis, associate director of the institute for Water and

Watersheds at Oregon State University, it takes above 72

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billion gallons of water a year worldwide just to make the

empty bottles. The used bottles which are tossed into the

beaches and roadsides take up to thousand years to bio-

degrade. The cost of the industry in terms of cost of disposal of

plastic bottles and pouches pose an environmental disaster.

That bottle which takes just 3 minutes to drink can take up to

a thousand years to bio-degrade. The bottles which are tossed

into beaches, road sides and landfills could be around for a

thousand years or so. About 10,000 crores of bottles are

thrown into the environment which degrades it and poses a

problem to the future generations (Achuthan A, 2007).

Plastic products are manufactured from fossil fuels like

crude oil, Natural gas and Chemical substances. Poisonous

chemicals like Ethylene Oxide, Benzene and Xylene are

released into air and water during the manufacturing of

plastic bottles. These elements are known to cause Cancer

and affecting the nervous system, Kidneys and defense

mechanism of the human body. These poisonous elements

also endanger the environment. Plastic causes serious damage

to environment both during its production and disposal.

Besides hitting hard the Eco system which is already Fragile,

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these chemicals can cause maladies ranging from birth defects

to damaging nervous system and immune system.

A Denmark based research claimed that plastic bottles

are behind early puberty in girls (Tree India, 2009). The study

finds that breast development now starts at 9.86 years, a year

earlier than the trend in 1990s. The conclusion was based on

a study conducted on 1100 girls in 1991-1993 and 995 girls

examined between 2006-08. The research confirmed that

chemicals in plastic like bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates

have potential to interfere with estrogen and other

reproductive hormones.

The plastic bottles which are buried in the soil may

release ‘phthalates’ into the underground water and may

contaminate it. The burning of plastic waste releases nitrogen,

sulphur, Carbon dioxide, etc., which cause global warming

and acid rain.

The Society of the Plastic Industry and the International

Bottled Water Association has formed the NAPCOR (National

Association for PET container Resource). This Association has

been successful in defending themselves against public

opinion related to production and consumption of plastic. The

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recycling of plastic is a costly affair. The new plastic products

are 40 per cent cheaper than the recycled products. This is

said to be the reason for the shutting down of many Recycling

units according to U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The recycling of plastic is dirty and labour intensive as has

been revealed by a study conducted by the public interest

research group based in Delhi.

About 50 per cent of the plastic production in India

comprise of carry bags, packaging covers, thermocol and cups

and plates. Recycling of plastic is a myth. If profitable

recycling could be carried out infinitely, there would not have

emerged the huge mountain of plastic waste that we see

around us. Around 80 per cent of bottles used for bottled

water sold in the US end up in landfills, only 20 per cent are

recycled. Worldwide, recycling rates are even lower. We do not

come across similar mountains of metals, paper or pieces of

broken glass because they have strong recycling value and

market.(http://seattlepi.nwsource.aom/local/312412botwater

web.html).

When a hazard is recycled another hazard is created.

Recycling of toxic waste merely puts the hazardous materials

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back into the market place and eventually into the

environment, thereby making no reduction in toxic use.

Recycling of plastic is associated with skin and respiratory

problems resulting from exposure to and inhalation of toxic

fumes especially hydrocarbons and residues released during

the process. The recycled plastic degrades in quality and

necessitates the production of more new plastic.

Since plastic does not undergo bacterial decomposition,

land filling using plastic would mean preserving the poison

forever. The plastic cannot be burnt because when burnt it

releases a host of poisonous chemicals into air including

dioxin, the most toxic substance known to science. So plastic

defies any kind of attempt at disposal be it through recycling,

burning or land filling.

Plastic waste clogs the drains and thus hit urban sewage

systems. The plastic waste being dumped into rivers, streams

and seas contaminate the water, soil, marine life and also the

air we breathe. Choked drains provide excellent breading

grounds for disease causing mosquitoes besides causing

flooding during monsoons. Landfills costs toxic seepage

resulting in the contamination of precious water resources.

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The waste mass impedes the flow of ground water as well and

obstructs the movement of the roots. It thus affects the soil’s

biological balance and organic processes.

The major source of water for the bottled water

industries is underground water. To manufacture 1 litre of

bottled water, 5 litres of water is used (Sharma Devinder,

2007). In the year 2004 in India 255 crore litres of water has

been wasted in this way. The exploitation of underground

water leads to water scarcity and endangers the whole society.

Plachimada experience has also shown how the exploitation of

underground water by bottling plants could lead to

withdrawing of the water-table. In 1995, the inhabitant of

Mathur village near Chennai had filed cases against a number

of bottling plants located there.

The real cost of the industry is huge. The cost of fast

depleting groundwater is incalculable. Ground water is the

backbone of India’s water-sector. It is the most critical factor

in India’s water-future. It is shrinking faster than it can be

replenished. The local effects of bottled water are of growing

concern in communities with large bottled water plants

tapping into local aquifers. Water bottlers may adversely affect

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ground water levels if they bottle more water than is naturally

replenished. Rivers are delicate eco systems. Tapping springs

and aquifers even on a small scale can alter the movement of

sediment in nearby streams.

Salt water intrusion is another problem with tapping

aquifers in coastal areas. In healthy eco systems along coastal

areas there is natural flow of ground water that pushes fresh

water out against the salt water creating a kind of seawall.

When ground water is being over used and flow falters as a

result the salt water will begin to creep underground, ruining

drinking water, wetlands and crops.

In 2005, under the leadership of “Tribune” the

Microbiology wing of Punjab University had conducted

experiments on four famous brands of Bottled Water and

found the water contaminated (Virendrakumar M.P., 2007).

The samples contained e-coli and coliform bacteria. The

experimented brands included popular brands like Aqua-fina,

Blue-label, Bisleri and Springwell.

The Mayors of Sanfransisco and Salt Lake City had

banned the use of bottled water in govt. offices and public

places. The use of bottled water was banned even in some of

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the popular hotels and restaurants in New York City. In New

York, a programme with an expenditure of $ 10 lakh has been

undertaken to conduct awareness programmes among the

inhabitants, for popularizing the use of water supplied by the

municipality. Supply of water of desirable quality yields a

range of benefit to households by reducing averting

expenditure on illness and these expenditures are a measure

of the costs which society bears due to undesirable quality of

water (Majumdar and Gupta, 2009).

3.4. Adequacy of Prescribed Standards

Human beings have fundamental requirements for

water, needing 1.8 to 2 litres/day to maintain good health

under normal circumstances. Ancient man focused his life on

access to water from springs, wells and rivers. As population

grew, civilization and technology developed and there was an

increase in use of water for domestic and industrial purposes.

Delivery systems were developed, but it became necessary to

treat water supplies effectively to ensure that they were safe

for drinking by the individual and to prevent the spread of

diseases that could be carried by water to the general masses.

Even with modern water supply systems, some type of

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chemical treatment and composition of pipes can cause

organoleptic changes to municipal water, giving it an

unpleasant taste. There is also concern regarding the potential

pollution of municipal supplies and for these reasons

consumption of bottled water has been increasing

dramatically. Packaging materials are essential to the bottled

water industry to ensure that the product reaches the

consumer in the best possible condition. Packaging costs

account for one-third of company’s turnover. As the bottled

water industry continues to develop much has been achieved

in recent years to minimize the impact on the environment by

improved manufacturing methods, rationalized distribution

and reduction in packaging materials, for eg; by the light

weighting of the containers.

The principal task of the bottled water industry is the

technical challenge of finding protecting and abstracting good

supply of water, followed by filling and distribution to the

ultimate consumer of a packaged produce that meets all

quality, safety and legal requirements.

All bottled water must be safe to drink and are required

to be free from any pathogenic micro-organism. Some such as

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natural mineral water and spring waters are required to be

free from pathogens without treatment and compliance with

this requirement is monitored by testing for the absence of

indicator organisms specified by legislations. Some bottled

waters, especially those originating from surface or municipal

supplies may be treated to kill any harmful bacteria and make

them safe to drink.

In the case of ground water there is also a natural

population of indigenous harmless bacteria. In some markets,

these naturally present bacteria are simply monitored to

ensure that the normal condition of the water is not

compromised, in others it is a requirement that they remain

within specified limits both in the source and at the time of

bottling.

The difference in the microbiological status between

municipal or mains water and bottled water is often compared,

but the assumption that the same qualitative standards apply

to both products is not correct. All waters for consumption

should be safe to drink. Municipal waters achieve this status

through chemical treatments and the presence of residual

chlorine disinfection at the point of use. In the case of bottled

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water such chemical residues are not only undesirable as they

impart an unpleasant taste and odour, but are also prohibited

by legislation as they contravene the standard of identity of

the product. Bottled waters are usually governed by legislation

different from that which applies to municipal water.

The Indian Bottled Water industry is subject to the rules

and regulations of Bureau of Indian standards. The BIS has

set standards for drinking water and mineral water. The

Prevention of Food Adulteration Act of 1954 had set standards

only for mineral water and defines it as water obtained directly

from potable, natural or drilled sources containing substantial

amount of health related mineral salts.

The BIS standard for packaged drinking water (IS:

14543) was formulated and the other one for packaged natural

mineral water (IS:13428) was revised in 1998. The Drinks and

Carbonated Beverages Sectional Committee, constituted by the

Food and Agriculture Division Council of BIS initially

considered amendments in earlier standards for mineral water

(IS: 13428: 1992). A panel was set up which prepared two

draft standards for packaged drinking water and packaged

natural mineral water. The requirement for pesticides

127

residues was revised as ‘not detectable’ on the basis of

comments received on the draft standards –

The codex standards as also WHO guidelines for

drinking water were considered while finalizing the standards.

In the Codex standards, the requirements for pesticide

residues is mentioned as ‘below the limit of quantification”,

which is not very different from ‘not detectable mentioned in

the two Indian standards. They were adopted after obtaining

the approval of the chairman of Food and Agriculture Division

council on 19-1-1998.

It came to the notice of the Department of Consumer

Affairs as also of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

that a large no of manufacturers of bottled water were not

adhering to quality specifications prescribed for water. It was

felt that there should be some check on unscrupulous

manufactures to protect the interest of the consumers.

Through two notifications dated 29-09-2000 (GSR No.759E

and 760 E), Ministry of Health and FW made BIS certification

of packaged drinking water and packaged MW mandatory

under PFA Act. The specifications prescribed for packaged

drinking water/natural mineral water mentioned pesticides

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residues as below ‘detectable levels’ as per test methods of

BIS.

3.4.1. Other National and International Standards

considered during the preparation of the two

standards.

In the preparation of the two standards, references have

been made to various standards prepared by other sectional

committees and Division Councils such as Water Sectional

Committee of the Chemical Division Council and Pesticides

Residues Sectional Committee under Food and Agriculture

Division Council. The sectional committee FAD 14 was aware

of the standards for drinking water declared acceptable by

international bodies like WHO, Codex, EEC etc. In particular

assistance was obtained from the following:

(a) Manual on Water Supply and Treatment (third

edition) 1991, prepared by the expert committee

constituted under the ministry of Urban

Development, New Delhi.

(b) Codex Code of Practice for collecting, Processing

and Marketing of Natural Mineral Water.

(CAC/RCP 33-1985)

(c) EEC Directive 80/778/EEC relating to the quality

of water intended for human consumption.

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3.4.2. Enforcement of standards through the Bureau of

Indian standards product certification scheme.

The powers rested in the Bureau to grant, renew,

suspend or cancel a license to use the Standard Mark are

under section 15 and 16 of the BIS Act and further details are

given in the Bureau of Indian Standards Certification

Regulations, 1988. The presence of the standard Mark of BIS

on a product is a means of conveying to the consumer that the

product meets the applicable standards for quality of

performance and safety.

The certification system followed by BIS is in agreement

with the system 5 described in ISO Guide 28 – 1987 followed

in several countries. Certification for packaged Natural

mineral water is (IS: 13428 and that for packaged drinking

water is IS: 14543).

The certification of packaged Natural Mineral water and

packaged Drinking water was brought under mandatory

certification scheme of BIS under PFA act 1954, through

notifications No. GSR 75 9 (E) and GSR 760 (E) issued by the

ministry of Health and Family Welfare on 29-9-2000. For

processing applications for grant of license, BIS has

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formulated 2 Schemes of Testing and Inspection (STI). They

specify the levels of control and the frequency of test

considered necessary for manufacturing units to ensure

adequate quality control and compliance to the specifications.

The frequency for monitoring and testing for pesticide residues

in both the STI has been specified as once in 2 years at a

recognized laboratory and similarly for radioactive chemicals

(alpha and beta emitters) once in 2 years at BARC. About 776

licenses have been issued for use of the standard mark on

packaged drinking water and 6 licenses have been issued for

the use of the standard Mark on packaged Natural mineral

water. So far BIS has drawn in all 3259 samples of which

1016 were for testing of pesticide residue. In all 494 samples

have failed to meet one or the other requirement.

In view of repeated failure to comply with the

specifications, BIS had imposed stop marking order on 108

licenses at different points of time till Feb 2003. In the 2 cases

of failure of samples for pesticide residues, appropriate

penalization like stoppage of marking was carried out.

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3.4.3. Adequacy of Number of Inspections and Withdrawals

of Samples.

BIS certification regulation 1988 provide for a minimum

of two inspections in a year in respect of each license. It was

mentioned by BIS that with regard to packaged water, it was

decided to increase the frequency of inspection from two to

three per year. Withdrawal of market samples is a simpler and

more cost effective means of quality control. BIS has

mentioned that normally two market samples are drawn per

year, later on it was decided that four market samples may be

drawn during an operative year.

3.4.4. Scheme of Testing and Inspection (STI) for packaged

drinking water.

In the case of packaged drinking water and natural

mineral water, STI has defined the levels of control in terms of

analysis and tests that have to be carried out on the given

frequency for various parameters. The manufacturer has to

make a decision to accept or reject the quality produced,

based on the in-house testing as specified in STI. In the STI

frequency for toxic metals analysis has been specified as once

in six months and for pesticide residues and alpha and beta

emitters once in two years. The STI also provides for test and

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analysis of the raw water as also hygienic criteria of the

material of manufacturing premises.

3.4.5. Effectiveness of Testing Facilities

Out of seven laboratories of BIS, only the central

laboratory Sahibabad has the capability of testing of packaged

drinking water- mineral water for biological and chemical

parameters except pesticides residues and radio active

emitters. BIS is dependent on facilities of independent

laboratories. It has a documented system of recognizing the

competence of laboratory which ensures broadly the

adherence to requirements of ISO 17025. So far BIS has

recognized 75 labs for various products, out of these 13 labs

have been recognized for analysis of water, ten of them have

facilities for testing pesticide residues in water. The

laboratories are interested with the testing work to be carried

out for parameters for which the laboratory is recognized. As

per STI, the test is required to be carried out at the initial

decision making time for grant of license and there after at two

yearly intervals. Two test reports selected at random have been

examined for their completeness. Each parameter

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(organoleptic, physical, chemical, toxic substances,

microbiological) is tested. The values obtained are compared

with the values specified in the standards and it is verified

whether prescribed test methods are used for each parameter.

It is checked and verified that the packaged water sample has

met the limits for all the parameters specified, the test results

are quantified, clear and unambiguous for all requirements.

Relating to the pesticide residue also results are expressed as

per the requirements of the Indian standard. BIS thus

conducts the grand of license and periodic surveillance of the

bottled water industry.

In 2002, the Center for Science and Environment

collected samples of bottled water, tested it in its laboratory

and detected pesticides beyond permissible levels. So they

looked at the source, collecting ground water in and around

bottling plants and found pesticides because ground water

used by bottled water companies for bottling packaged water

had contaminants. Regulations for pesticide residues in

bottled water existed but were not quantified at that time.

134

Figure 3.5

Pesticide Contamination in Bottled Water

Bottled Water Companies

Source: Center for Science and Environment

Figure 3.6

Comparison of pesticide contamination - Soft drinks and Bottled Water

Centre for Science and Environment

Same as bottled water

Same pesticides, same groundwater

30 times

36 times

36.4 times

AverageCoca-Cola India

AveragePepsiCo India

AverageBottled water,

all brands

Source: Center for Science and Environment

135

After the report of the study conducted by CSE was

published, government issued notification for revised norms:

Individual pesticides = 0.0001mg/1

Total pesticides = 0.0005mg/1

This was implemented from January 1, 2004. Most

companies are now adhering to the new norms according to

the BIS.

3.4.6. Status of Alignment of BIS Standards with

corresponding International Standards.

One salient feature of international standard is that they

have only one standard for drinking water which would apply

to drinking water from a distribution system as well as in

bottles or in other containers. For mineral water, different

standards have been prescribed. The Indian standards(IS-

10500 1991) (first revision) for drinking water specification

derived assistance from WHO guidelines 1984. It also derived

assistance from the manual of standards for Quality of

Drinking Water Supply, ICMR 1971 and a similar manual of

ministry of urban development 1989. The subsequent

standard IS-13428 for natural mineral water and IS-14543 for

136

packaged drinking water formulated in 1998 were in

compliance with Codex Standards and WHO guidelines.

A comparative analysis of norms for pesticide residues in

BIS standards with WHO guidelines for water quality in 1996

and 2003, USFDA, EU Directive1998 etc was carried out. It

was observed that the list of pesticides which can be detected

by Indian test methods is quite exhaustive and many of these

pesticides do not find specific mention in other standards/

directives. These might be because pesticides used in different

countries are not comparable.

A comparative analysis of the parametric values

concerning safety of drinking water shows that there are

differences for the same parameters in different standards in

some cases BIS norm for contaminant substances is more

stringent when compared with corresponding EU directive. For

example copper is 2.0mg/1 in EU norm against 0.5mg/1 in

BIS. However it is not always feasible to align the Indian

standard with the international standards in totality.

137

Works Cited

Achuthan A. (2007). “Kuppivellamo atho Kuppavellamo?,

Mathrubhumi daily , Nov. 8, p. 4.

Babu Abhilash (2008). “Nishedhikapedunna Kudivellam,”

Malayalam weekly, Vol. 20 No. 12, p. 12

Chandrabhushan (2006). “Bottled loot”, Frontline, Vol. 23,

issue 07, p. 21

Chapell Frank (2005). Well Springs – A Natural history of

bottled spring water, Rutgar University Press, New

Jersey, p. 5.

Clarke Tony (2004). Inside the bottle – an expose of the bottled

water industry, The Polaris Institute, Canada,

p. 40.

Indushekhar K.S. (2008) “Vellathinu theepidikunnu,”

Malayalam weekly Vol. 20, No. 12, pp. 14.

Jemmott Janet Majeski (2008). “Bottled water vs Tap water”.

Readers Digest, Vol. 170, Feb. 8, p.118.

Majumdar Chirodip and Gautam Gupta (2009. “The Economic

Lapses due to drinking water Impurity,” Indian

Economic Review, Vol. 44, January-June, p. 125.

Narayanan Sunitha (2006). “Strong colas weak governments”

Down to earth, Vol. 15, No.7, p. 5.

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Senior Dorothy and Nick Dege (2005). Technology of bottled

water, Wiley Black Well Cornwal Great Briton, pp

13-16)

Sharma Devinder (2007). “Kuppivellathinte Sambathika

shasthram.” Mathrubhoomi daily, Oct. 3, p. 4.

Shiva Vandana (2007). Jalayudhangal Mathrubhumi Books,

Kozhikode, p.118.

Soman C.R. (2007). “Namuk veno ee kuppivellam”?,

Mathrubhumi Daily, Nov. 9, p. 4.

Suchithra M. (2007). “Keralavum kuppivellathilekku

kuppukuthukayano?” Mathrubhumi daily, Nov. 12,

p. 4.

Tree India (2009). Eco Fraternity, vol. 25, p.16

Virendrakumar M.P. (2007b). “Kuppivella vyavasayam – chila

vasthuthakal”, Mathrubhumi daily, Oct. 28, p. 4.

Website

http://www.ug.edu/gissa/projects/drinkingwater

http://seattlepi.nwsource.aom/local/312412botwaterweb.html

http: /www the hindu.com/the hindu/mp/2003/02/10

http: /www bis.org