In Canada, we have the Safe Water Act which directs municipalities to disinfect their drinking water in order to prevent outbreaks of waterborne diseases such as cholera, e-coli, dysentry, legionnaires disease, typhoid fever, gastroenteritis, poliomyelitis, and many more known viral, bacterial, parasitic and protozoal infections present in raw water. For example, in order to prevent such diseases in Ottawa, the city adds large quantities of Sulphuric acid, Sodium Silicate, Sodium Hydroxide (better known as Caustic soda), Chlorine, Ammonia and Chloromine (a mixture of Chlorine and Ammonia) to their water supply. All toxic but necessary chemicals that help to prevent the spread of these often deadly diseases. The public, however, is starting to question the quality of tap water and wonders if it is safe enough to drink.

Although associated with healthy water, bottled water is not necessarily healthier than tap water and yet it costs much more! Often the only difference is the added minerals which have no proven health benefits. A four-year study by the Natural Resources Defense Council shows that 1/3 of the bottled water tested contains levels of contamination which exceed allowable limits. Bottled water can also be slightly acidic, which may affect your body’s pH balance. Finally, the environmental impact caused by the production and disposal of plastic bottles is harmful to our ecosystem. (source: Natural Resources Defense Council)

Also known as alkalized water, ionized water or hydrogen rich water, is the most common term in the scientific literature. The first part of the name is “electrolyzed” because the filtered water has undergone electrolysis process to replicate a similar water molecular structure as living water falls in the blue zones. Another part of the name is “reduced”, as the water at the cathode has been reduced to hydrogen gas and hydroxides, resulting in an mildly alkaline water with oxidation reductive characteristics (a.k.a. anti-oxidant) due to the presence of dissolved hydrogen gas. ERW for drinking purposes has a pH between 8 - 9.5 and a negative oxidation-reduction potential between -100 mV to -800 mV. It contains dissolved molecular hydrogen gas (responsible for the – ORP) and low dissolved molecular oxygen gas.

Reverse Osmosis is a filtering process which may be effective in areas that do not receive municipally treated water and is commonly used in bottled water facilities. The problem with this process is that dangerous chemicals like pesticides, herbicides, and chlorine are molecularly smaller than water and can pass freely through the filter.  Reverse osmosis removes healthy, naturally occurring water minerals. These minerals not only provide good taste, they also serve a vital function in the body’s system. When stripped of these minerals, water can be unhealthy. Also, 2 - 3 gallons of water are wasted for every gallon of purified water produced.