TECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS IN EXTRACTING AND REGULATING SPRINGWATER FORPUBLIC CONSUMPTION

Many states within the United States as well as many other countries h ave promulgated regulations addressing public health, consumer protect ion, and truth-in-labeling aspects of the extraction, bottling, and la beling of commercially bottled springwater intended for public consump tion. Many of these regulations are inconsistent, suggesting a need fo r more uniform standards in acceptable extraction methods and legal/te chnical definitions of ''spring'' and ''springwater.'' An objective of the extraction or collection method is protecting the quality and int egrity of the springwater, especially against microbial contamination. A summary of microbiological issues associated with groundwater and s pringwater is presented. Acceptable extraction methods can be either s urface collection boxes/houses at the discharge point of the spring or a subsurface borehole or gallery interception system. Although extrac tion wells can provide total protective isolation of the water, a pote ntial concern with that method is providing assurance that the extract ed water is in fact the same water that feeds the adjacent spring. Cri teria for testing this requirement are suggested in the paper.