Bluewater, a leader in clean water and beverage innovation, expressed serious concern over a groundbreaking U.S. study revealing significant health risks associated with various water sources in San Francisco. The study, published in Plos Water, examined 603 tap water samples, 100 bottled water samples, and 111 samples of household-treated tap water in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Swedish ecopreneur Bengt Rittri, founder and CEO of Bluewater, remarked, “It’s difficult not to sound alarmist when a study clearly identifies serious threats to drinking water from widely used chemicals.”
Rittri pointed out that the growing evidence of chemical, toxic metal, and microplastic contamination in tap water is fueling public concerns about its safety. A global survey conducted in August among 148,585 adults across 141 countries found that 40 percent of people worldwide are skeptical about their tap water’s safety.
The research, conducted by environmental testing firm SimpleLab in Berkeley, California, revealed that all three water sources—tap, bottled, and household-treated—pose potential health risks, primarily due to trihalomethanes (THMs).
THMs are byproducts of chlorine disinfection, used to prevent waterborne diseases. However, exposure to THMs has been associated with potential increased cancer risk and damage to the liver and kidneys.
“One of the study’s authors highlighted that this is the first large-scale comparison of bottled, tap, and household-treated water quality. The findings show that while alternatives to tap water, like bottled water and household treatment systems, are popular, they do not necessarily offer better safety and can sometimes involve greater environmental and financial costs,” the author noted.
Founded over a decade ago, Bluewater aims to eliminate the need for single-use plastic bottles. The company now provides advanced solutions, including its next-generation reverse osmosis SuperiorOsmosis™ technology, designed to remove up to 99.7 percent of contaminants, enabling individuals, communities, and businesses worldwide to take control of their water quality.