Consumption Conundrum of Bottled Water in India

Abstract

The rapid growth in consumption of bottled water across the globe has drawn attention of policy makers and academicians alike. However, its consumption practices have been examined primarily in the context of industrialized countries. Drawing on studies of Science, Technology and Society, Public Understanding of Science, and institutions, this article explores the nuances of the consumption conundrum of bottled water in India. This mixed method study relies on data collected through surveys and ethnography of consumption practices at selected sites in Delhi. We find reasons for bottled water consumption to vary with the site of consumption. Although the notions of “purity” and “scarcity” drive consumption behavior, these attributes are far from being objective. Rather, they are shaped by a complex mix of sociocultural factors, public understanding of science, and trust on various institutional mechanisms of water provisioning.

Towards A Situated Urban Political Ecology Analysis of Packaged Drinking Water Supply

“…In many cities where PDW is consumed across income levels, there are variations in quality within an essentially self-regulating domestic PDW market. Stoler highlights variations in quality for sachet water in Accra [13]; Sharma and Bhaduri flag that contamination events are under-reported in Delhi [10]; and online media documents contamination events are still occurring in Indonesian cities [35]. However, over the years, as general conclusions seem to be that quality of PDW is improving through self-regulation of the domestic industry (for Indonesia, see World Bank, 2015 [4]; for West Africa, see Stoler (2017) [12], public health research has highlighted the significance of PDW as form of supply in contexts where it is of superior quality to other "improved" sources.…”

“…The limitations of an approach to understanding PDW supply through water quality or the individual have been noted before, but represent a very small sample of the research contributing to our understanding of PDW supply. In 2014, Sharma and Bhaduri showed how notions of purity (suspicion of tap water quality) or scarcity (gaps in service provision), cited by individuals as reasons for PDW use in Delhi, are shaped by broader sets of social relations [10]. They conclude that understanding PDW supply requires a more nuanced analysis [10] (p. 6) of the societal processes creating different conditions across the city.…”

“…In 2014, Sharma and Bhaduri showed how notions of purity (suspicion of tap water quality) or scarcity (gaps in service provision), cited by individuals as reasons for PDW use in Delhi, are shaped by broader sets of social relations [10]. They conclude that understanding PDW supply requires a more nuanced analysis [10] (p. 6) of the societal processes creating different conditions across the city. This observation has also been made for understanding PDW supply in Accra, as Morinville (2017) calls for discussions of sachet water in Accra to acknowledge the deeply political nature of water access in Accra, and uses a UPE analysis to show how choices of individuals are shaped by the different geographies of water access [41].…”

“…Residents report frequent problems with the color of water (brown) and visible dissolved solids, as negative water pressure in a leaky underground distribution system results in infiltration of wastewater. Differences in piped water pressure and implications for differences in piped water quality has been shown in other cities to shape choices for water treatment options, including PDW [10,33,48]. This is highly relevant for Jakarta, where differences in access within the piped network are significant, and 10% of the total number of piped connections are reported as "zero consumption" due to low water pressure [49].…”

“…Most social science studies of PDW explain this phenomenon as a commercial product, a luxury, and a source of waste-not as a source of supply [6][7][8][9]. Where PDW is studied as a water supply, largely in contexts where access to improved sources is not universal, or safe for drinking, research is overwhelmingly focused on the water quality of this supply [10]. Research on PDW quality has increased awareness of the role of PDW as a source of water supply in contexts where the majority of the world's urban residents live-cities where piped water is not universally accessible, or safe for drinking without prior point of use treatment [11]-and have reinforced the importance of water quality as a dimension of equitable water access [12,13].…”