Inexpensive, potable tap water is one of our nation’s privileges but, unfortunately, unfiltered tap water can be riddled with contaminants. The Environmental Working Group (EWG), a nonprofit environmental research and advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C., has found 316 toxins lurking in tap water supplies throughout the country which, according to the Centers for Disease Control, can lead to a variety of adverse health effects, including gastrointestinal illness, reproductive problems and neurological disorders. Contaminants in tap water may include industrial chemicals, pesticides, metals, pharmaceuticals, bacteria, viruses, protozoan, parasites, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), radiological contaminants such as plutonium and uranium and even sewer overflows and wastewater. Need I say more?
Bottom line: I do not recommend giving unfiltered tap water to your dog.
Should dogs drink bottled water?
In 2016, Americans drank 12.8 billion gallons of bottled water. But at nearly 2,000 times the cost of tap water, is bottled water really a purer alternative? Not necessarily. In a 2008 study, the EWG discovered combinations of 38 different pollutants in 10 popular brands of U.S. bottled water. In some brands, the pollutants, which included bacteria, pharmaceuticals, arsenic, fertilizer residue, radioactive isotopes and industrial chemicals, equaled the same level as the country’s most polluted tap water systems. The majority of bottled waters also contain endocrine disruptor chemicals, man-made compounds that interfere with hormone signaling. And plastic water bottles may contain bisphenol A (BPA), an industrial chemical that can seep into the water and is associated with a variety of health risks. Since most states don’t require bottled water companies to disclose the presence of contaminants or the origin of the water, you really don’t know what’s in that bottle. And then there are the environmental effects. Americans use 3 million plastic water bottles every hour, and less than 30 percent of them are recycled.