China’s water resources are increasingly under threat as the country’s economic growth outpaces supply of fresh water. The country’s unprecedented growth has resulted in serious water pollution. Some studies suggest that currently, only half of urban water supplies meet national quality standards. As the domestic demand for bottled water is on the rise, there are concerns about the government regulator’s ability to ensure quality. In the years ahead, China’s bottled water market will have to tackle this increase in demand, but also face the cruel reality of water scarcity.

In the past five years China’s consumption of bottled water almost doubled (according to report by the research firm Euromonitor, and increase from 19 billion to 37 billion litres). China has also more than doubled its share of global bottled water consumption since 2006 and two years ago the country overtook America as the biggest market for bottled water by volume.

In any case, tackling the rising demand and water scarcity are not the only big concerns. China’s weak regulatory regime also poses a great threat to both the industry and especially the consumers. In a country where 70% of fresh water resources are polluted to some degree, the need for stringent filtration criteria is quite clear. When the World Health Organisation updated its water quality detection methods, Chinese regulators updated the standard for testing tap water, but have not done so for bottled water. Thus Chinese bottlers are not required to test their product for a number of indicators, such as for compounds like mercury and silver, water acidity or pH level. In fact, Chinese tap water is tested for five times more indicators than bottled drinking water.

It is hard to assess compliance while having little information on the bottling company standards as well as due to confusion resulting from conflicting national and provincial regulations. Bottlers are also rarely forthcoming with details on their internal standards, even though withholding this information violates Article 26 of China’s Food Safety Law. Bottled water quality has become a major health concern among the public after one of the few nationally sold bottled water suppliers Nongfu Spring was accused of cutting corners and lowering its bar through adopting standards issued by Zhejiang province that were not updated to meet national standards.

The complexity and seriousness of this issue beyond the scope of public health risk is then illustrated by another phenomenon that Chinese regulators have problem fighting – brand falsification. According to an employee in the bottled water business, nearly 60% of the bottled water jugs(popular 19 liter barrels) on the Chinese market are falsely branded, and many illegal water factories bottle tap water and sell it under the popular brand names. Officials are also rarely passive in checking the serial numbers on water products: only three out of 10,000 serial numbers are usually checked.

These realities create a breeding ground for fake bottling and contamination of water products, but also represent a notable opportunity for companies who are thorough and transparent in their purification methods. As it is with many other areas – when it’s regarding health, safety and well-being of the family – Chinese consumers who are able to afford it will be increasingly choosing premium products; exponentially more expensive than the regular products of dubious quality.

Sources: “China still tests bottled drinking water using ‘Soviet standards’” SCMP, http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1228136/china-still-tests-bottled-drinking-water-using-soviet-standards

«Spring tide» The Economist http://www.economist.com/news/business/21645215-pollution-fears-are-driving-chinese-towards-expensive-branded-waters-spring-tide

«China’s bottled water: the next health crisis?» China Dialogue https://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/7152-China-s-bottled-water-the-next-health-crisis-

«Bottled Water In China – Boom Or Bust?» China Water Risk http://chinawaterrisk.org/notices/bottled-water-in-china-boom-or-bust/

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