Aquafina Defends Their Bottled Tap Water By Explaining The Filtration Process

When you buy bottled water, you may be under the impression that you're getting purified water from a spring source.But many of the big brand water bottles like Dasani and Aquafina actually use filtered tap water, a fact that had been a part of the "fine print" on Aquafina's labels until 2007. But for the past 8 years, thanks in part to corporate watchdog organizations like Accountability International, anytime you buy an Aquafina water bottle, you'll see the acronym PWS (public water source).

Despite this transparency over the past 8 years, there have been numerous critiques aimed at the water bottle company, claiming that it is a waste of money, like a September article in Inverse magazine, which claimed that drinking Aquafina was "no better than drinking water from your bathroom sink," and that the Aquafina logo is misleading, since it depicts an outline of mountains, implying spring mountain water.

"As stated on the label, Aquafina is purified water," an anonymous spokesperson told Inverse Magazine in a follow-up interview. "It originates from public water sources and is then purified through a rigorous, seven-step purification process called Hydro-7. That is not the 'same water you get in your bathroom sink,' as you noted."

The Hydro-7 Filtration process is explained in detail on the Aquafina website.