Bottled Water Industry Applauds President Obama Signing Water Infrastructure Bill into Law

International Bottled Water Association | MEDIA RELEASE | June 10, 2014

Bottled Water Industry Applauds President Obama Signing
Water Infrastructure Bill into Law

Alexandria, VA – The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) applauds President Barack Obama for signing into law the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014. This important law supports a strong American public water infrastructure and creates the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Authority (WIFIA). This program will provide low-interest federal loans to communities, which will reduce the cost of financing large water and wastewater infrastructure projects.

“The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) thanks President Obama for taking decisive action to support the maintenance and improvement of America’s water infrastructure and, through the creation of WIFIA, providing a necessary financial mechanism to help make these improvements possible,” says Joe Doss, IBWA president and CEO.

The bottled water industry supports a strong public water system, which is important for providing citizens with clean and safe drinking water.  In fact, many bottled water companies use public water sources for their purified bottled water products.  Once this water enters the bottled water plant, several processes are employed to ensure that it meets the purified standard of the U.S. Pharmacopeia, 23rd Revision. These treatments may include one or more of the following: reverse osmosis, distillation, micro-filtration, carbon filtration, ozonation, and ultraviolet (UV) light.  The finished water product is then placed in a bottle under sanitary conditions and sold to the consumer.

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Media Contact:
Chris Hogan
chogan@bottledwater.org
703.647.4609

The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) is the authoritative source of information about all types of bottled waters, including spring, mineral, purified, artesian, and sparkling. Founded in 1958, IBWA’s membership includes U.S. and international bottlers, distributors and suppliers. IBWA is committed to working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates bottled water as a packaged food product, to set comprehensive and stringent standards for safe, high-quality bottled water products.  

In addition to FDA regulations, IBWA member bottlers must adhere to the IBWA Bottled Water Code of Practice, which mandates additional standards and practices that in some cases are more stringent than federal and state regulations. A key feature of the IBWA Bottled Water Code of Practice is a mandatory annual plant inspection by an independent, third-party organization.  

IBWA is proud to be a partner with Keep America Beautiful and a supporter of Drink Up, an initiative of former First Lady Michelle Obama and the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA), which encourages Americans to drink more water more often – whether from the tap, a filter, or in a bottle. Choosing water is always the healthy choice.