Can drinking water cause illness?
Untreated or inadequately treated water from wells and other sources can contain sufficient numbers of disease-causing organisms such as bacteria, parasites and viruses to cause illness. Health Canada is coordinating the development of the “Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality” and Canadians can be assured that Canada has high quality drinking water. These guidelines are intended to apply to all drinking water supplies, public and private. Bottled water can also contain these contaminants. However, illness caused by bottled water is very rare in Canada because it is treated, disinfected and monitored to ensure the absence of harmful organisms. To the best of our knowledge, no waterborne disease outbreaks have been associated with the consumption of bottled water in Canada. Published reports have shown that in countries where manufacturing practices are not as strict as in Canada, improperly manufacturedbottled water has led to outbreaks of cholera and typhoid, and to “Travell
