24. The Bottled Water Craze

Bottled water is the fastest-growing segment of the global beverage industry, and, based on its current growth rate, sales of bottled water will surpass those of milk, beer and coffee in the next few years. It is now considered a basic rather than a luxury product by developed countries; even in the smallest retail outlet there are shelves devoted to different brands of bottled water.

There are three kinds of drinking water: tap, distilled and mineral water. According to its Water Supplies Department, Hong Kong has one of the safest tap flows in the world, complying chemically and bacteriologically with World Health Organization (WHO) standards. FIuoride is added to minimize dental decay. However, critics say that Hong Kong’s tap water, most of which comes from a river flowing from Guangdong Province, meets WHO standards only at and immediately after, leaving the treatment works. Ancient storage tanks and unlined galvanized pipes (prohibited since 1995) can contaminate water on its way to the taps, and alter its taste. “The present problem of water quality does not stem from the treatment system,” said Dr K.C. Ho of the Open University of Hong Kong. “It originates in the rusty distribution system, which is not properly maintained.”

Distilled water is simply the condensed steam of boiled tap water, and although it is free from harmful bacteria, it is devoid of all good minerals too. Freshwater fish perish if they are kept in a tank of distilled water, because they need minerals to survive. Doctors, nutrition experts and scientists have observed that if distilled water is ingested by humans over a long period of time, it can leach out valuable body minerals such as potassium, magnesium and calcium, which are respectively required by the body for regulating the acid base and water balance in the blood and body tissues, maintaining healthy teeth and bones, and for the body’s metabolic function.

Mineral water is collected and bottled at the point of emergence from a protected
underground source. It gets its taste and content depending on the type of rocks the rain falls on and how long its drops take to filter through. According to European laws, it must contain a consistent level of natural mineral salts to qualify as “mineral” wate . “There are no natural springs in Hong Kong, so technically there is no mineral water as such,” said Neil Waters, sales and marketing director of Swire Coca-Cola, which bottles and distributes Bonaqua. “We used to market Bonaqua as mineral water, but we now use the term ‘mineralized water,’ because we want our customers to know that they are receiving the same standard and taste of water year after year.”

Bonaqua draws water from the government water supply, imitates the filtration process for natural mineral water, passes the water over two sand filters and an active carbon filter, adds a concoction of minerals specified by Coca-Cola’s strict guidelines, and then purifies it. “We have obtained the water industry’s version of the ISO 9002 (international certificate of quality) from the American National Sanitary Federation,” said Waters. “But this is not something you earn once and for all; we have to submit to regular checks in order to keep it.”

Specialists agree that people engaging in strenuous exercise lose mineral salts rapidly, and these need to be replenished as quickly as possible. Drinking mineral water is a convenient way to do this. However, there are some reservations about the benefits of mineral water. "It’s fine for a healthy individual to drink any kind of mineral water,” said dietician Mimi Sham. “But if a person has kidney problems or hypertension, he or she must avoid drinking water with a high sodium content. Similarly, if you suffer from calcium stones you don’t want to be consuming more calcium than your body can take.”

Adapted from an article in the South China Morning Post


Questions 1—6
Choose ONE phrase A -G from the box to complete each of the following key points. Write the appropriate letters A —G in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet. The information in the completed sentences should be an accurate summary of points made by the writer.
You may use any phrase more than once.

Example Answer
The three categories of drinking water are B

1. Hong Kong has no proper mineral water
2. Distilled water
3. Poor water quality in Hong Kong
4. Mineral water
5. Fluoride is added to water
6. To keep the water industry’s version of the ISO 9002
A. can remove minerals from the body.
B. tap, distilled and mineral water.
C. can be bad for people with certain health problems.
D. to protect people’s teeth.
E. a company selling water must pass regular inspections.
F. because it lacks natural springs.
G. results from the distribution system.

Answer: 1-F, 2-A, 3-G, 4-C, 5-D, 6-E

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