All about Culligan of Phoenix Bottled Water
Water Types & Terminology
Quality Assurance
Bottled water is fully regulated as a packaged food product. Stringent federal, state and Culligan’s own requirements are instrumental in our bottled water’s consistent safety, quality and good taste.
To help ensure bottled water safety and quality, we follow testing and monitoring requirements which are mandated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the State ofArizonathroughout the entire process. Our water is routinely monitored and tested for:
- Organics, such as pesticides, herbicides and volatile organic compounds
- Inorganics such as lead, copper, zinc, chloride and minerals
- Microbiologicals, such as bacteria
- Radiologicals, such as Gross Alpha and Beta, Uranium 226 and 228
- Physical properties, such as pH and turbidity
Drinking Water
Culligan Drinking Water Analysis
Calcium…………………………………………….…..ND**
Magnesium…………………………………………….0.91 mg/L*
Chlorine…………………………………………….…..ND**
Fluoride…………………………………………..…….ND**
Lead……………………………………………..……..ND**
Sodium…………………………………………..……..ND**
Total Dissolved Solids…………………………………35*
*Milligrams per liter **ND indicates NOT DETECTED
The clean, crisp taste of our drinking water is due to Culligan’s industry-leading technology. Our company processing provides filtration, reverse osmosis treatment, deionization and submicron filtration to provide water that is chlorine-free and crystal clear. Minerals are added to enhance the taste (Total Dissolved Solids are not detected after treatment and before minerals are added. After minerals are added to enhance taste, the Total Dissolved Solids are in the 35 +/-3 Mg/L range). Finally, our drinking water is ozonated, which is a chemical-free means of sterilization that leaves no color, after-taste or odor.
Reverse osmosis is a water treatment process that removes ionized salts, very fine solid particles, and organic molecules from water using pressure to force water molecules through a semi-permeable membrane.
Consumers that prefer drinking water:
- Those that prefer the clean, crisp taste of water with reduced minerals to the somewhat less flavorful taste of purified water, or the taste minerals provide natural spring water.
Purified Water
Culligan Purified Water Analysis
Calcium……………………………………………………ND**
Magnesium……………………………………………… ND**
Chlorine……………………………………………………ND**
Fluoride…………………………………………………….ND**
Lead…………………………………………………… …ND**
Sodium……………………………………………………..ND**
Total Dissolved Solids……………………………………..ND**
*Milligrams per liter **ND indicates NOT DETECTED
Culligan’s Purified Water utilizes deionization to remove organic compounds as well as undesirable contaminants like nitrates and arsenic. Deionization is an effective process for producing water with a distinct clarity, up to 98% free of sediments, metals and biological matter. It is a very low solids drinking water, and is ideal for steam irons, photography, batteries and humidifiers.
Consumers that prefer Purified water:
- Those on physician-prescribed diets (such as sodium-free diets)
- Those who prefer to obtain their minerals from other sources in their diet (e.g., from food or diet supplements such as vitamins)
- Those who do not want fluoride in their drinking water
- Those who prefer a very low solids (less than one mg/L) drinking water
- Those that want distilled water quality without the risk of volatile organic contaminants being carried over to product water in vapors created in the water distillation process
Spring Water
You get out what nature put in.
Culligan Natural Spring Water
Calcium………………………………………………..19 mg/L*
Magnesium…………………………………………….8.7 mg/L*
Chlorine………………………………………………..ND**
Fluoride…………………………………………………ND**
Lead…………………………………………………….ND**
Potassium……………………………………………….2.7 mg/L*
Sodium…………………………………………………7 mg/L*
Total Dissolved Solids…………………………………150 mg/L*
*Milligrams per liter **ND indicates NOT DETECTED
Spring water means water derived from an underground formation from which water flows naturally to the surface of the earth. There must be a natural force causing the water to flow to the surface through a natural orifice. Culligan’s bottling process does not change the composition of minerals that nature has provided by either adding anything to it or deleting anything from our natural spring source. Nor do we ever add carbonation of flavors.
Consumers that prefer spring water:
- Those who like the taste provided by the naturally occurring minerals
- Those who want water to be a source of minerals in their diet
- Those who prefer a natural over processed water
Advanced Filtration Systems and Reverse Osmosis
Connects to the customer’s water supply and improves its quality with advanced filtration and/or reverse osmosis technology. Systems can be inside a bottled water cooler with convenient chilled, instant hot, and room temperatures, or under the sink for plumbing to a special drinking water faucet and to refrigerator ice cube makers and chilled drinking water spigots.
Multi-staged filtration systems remove lead (95% soluble lead removal), chlorine and other elements which could adversely affect taste and odor. By stripping away the objectionable components the system provides water that is chlorine-free, crystal clear and a finer, cleaner product.
Reverse osmosis technology, also known as “RO” is available inside a bottle-style water cooler, too. RO reduces all suspended and dissolved matter in water. In the process, pressure is used to force water through a semi-permeable membrane which permits passage of the water, but rejects most things dissolved in it. RO will typically remove 90 – 98% of the suspended and dissolved matter through this process.
Consumers that prefer advanced filtration and RO systems:
- Those that want to satisfy their need for an alternative to tap water, but prefer not to store bottles
- Those who are not available to receive deliveries of bottled water
- Those who want a fixed monthly price
- Anyone that has trouble lifting bottles.
Tap (Utility Grade) Water
The quality of tap water is generally good when it leaves the central treatment plant. However, there are at least three issues, in addition to taste, worth consideration by sophisticated consumers.
First, there is the issue of high Total Dissolved Solids in most of Arizona’s public water supplies.
Second, there is the issue of degradation of the water quality in the distribution piping system. Most topical of these issues is the migration of lead into the water.
Third, is the issue of chlorine in the public water supplies. For many consumers, chlorine leaves an objectionable after-taste at the very least. Moreover, some physicians claim that chlorine may have health consequences from continual absorption by the human organism of infinitesimal doses of this chemical.
Under the Consumer Right To Know law, consumers may call their local water utility to obtain a copy of their water analysis, and a report on the number of times (if any) that the water supply has not been in compliance with regulations.
One final point: only about ½ of 1% of all the water supplied by the typical water utility is used for drinking and cooking. All of the rest is used for washing, bathing, flushing wastes, irrigation, fighting fires and industrial uses. It doesn’t make sense, economic or otherwise, to treat all of the water supplied to the highest drinking water standards.
Consumers that prefer tap water:
- Those who are unaware of the aforementioned tap water quality issues.
- Those who we have not educated to the fact that there is a readily available and affordable alternative to tap water in bottled water and advanced filtration or reverse osmosis systems.
What is Ozone?
Ozone is nothing more than another molecular form of oxygen. Oxygen will naturally form an oxygen/oxygen bond. The ozone molecule contains three oxygen atoms. When the third atom is bound together with the other two to form ozone, it becomes a very potent germicide completely destroying bacteria in a very short time.
Our production facility uses ozone to both sterilize our water (should there be any bacteria present), and to protect customers against any impurities that might exist in the bottles. Ozone is the ideal disinfectant because it does not add any color, taste, or odor to our products. Chlorine, used by public water utilities to kill bacteria in the water and distribution piping, has been criticized on the grounds that it creates a disagreeable taste. Moreover, some physicians claim that chlorine may have health consequences from continual absorption by the human organism of infinitesimal doses of this chemical.
The U.S. Food andDrug Administration has continually recognized the use of ozone in bottled water as safe. There are no reports in eitherEuropeor theU.S.of human toxicity from the use of ozone. The use of ozone is the very best alternative for our customers, and we have complete confidence in using it.
What is mg/L?
Mg/L is “milligrams per liter”. This term is a unit of measure used in reporting concentration of matter in water as determined by water analysis. Since a liter of water weighs one million milligrams, mg/L is used interchangeably with “parts per million” (ppm) in water analyses.
Thus: 1 ppm = 1 mg/L
Note: 1 ppm is the equivalent of 1 second in 11 ½ days.
1 part per billion is the same as 1 second in 31 years!
Bottled Water Shelf Life
There is no difference in the storage life of any of our company’s bottled water products: drinking, purified, fluoridated or spring water. None of these products are perishable and, stored in the original unopened container, out of sunlight, and in a dry and odor-free atmosphere, would have an indefinite shelf life.
Although the composition of each of the aforementioned water types is different, the shelf life issue is one of microbial factors, which are the same for all water types. All of our products are bottled with the use of multiple barriers of protection and meeting U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations, and all of our products have no microbiological health risk consequence. The Food and Drug Administration has not established a shelf life for bottled water. Bottled water can be used indefinitely, if stored properly.
Protection afforded by the use of multiple barriers include sanitation procedures, sealed systems, sanitary filling procedures and microbiological quality monitoring. Included in our multiple barriers is disinfection by ozone.
For these reasons, when our product leaves our custody and control, we are assured of its quality. Our company is only responsible for the quality while we do have custody of it because, like any ingestible product, bottled water must be handled and stored properly. Reasonable care must be exerted to prevent migration of contamination through the bottle and to prevent entry of pathogens after the bottle is opened.
Unrelated to health effects, there is a taste issue that is a consideration in storing water. For this reason we advise consumers to store bottles away from heat, soaps, perfumes, disinfectants, oil products or other items with strong odors. This same migration of odors or tastes can happen in refrigerators. For example, a milk bottle stored next to an onion or cantaloupe results in the milk having an “off taste.” Therefore, for nursing homes, for people with compromised immune systems and other potential emergency uses, we suggest that the water be replaced each six months even though it would be safe for the average healthy person to drink. To provide a margin of safety for the average healthy person, we recommend replacing water each two years.
