Water Quality of Glaciers

tart -->Eklutna Glacier, for 23,000 years."
Water quality is an important topic, since we all drinkThe implication here is that glacier water quality is
quantities of water over our lifetimes. Even if we drinkunsurpassed since it has been stored away for so
only minimally, we still want top water quality.many years. One can almost imagine a glacier with an
So what about the water quality of glaciers - do weairtight, liquid-tight seal for ultimate protection!
want it? Is the water quality of glaciers really pristine,The True Water Quality of Glaciers
as we are led to believe?Because of their frozen state, glaciers may have
Glaciers Store About 75% of the World's Freshwaterlower levels of contaminants and bacteria, but how
Freshwater contains very minimal amounts oflow?
dissolved salts, especially sodium chloride. It is foundOne FDA investigator noted that, aside from
only in lakes, streams, and rivers - never in oceans ormarketability, glaciers are a rather imperfect water
seas. Glaciers have, therefore, potentially good watersource, since animals traipse across them all the time,
quality. Is that water quality pristine, though?contributing contaminants and lowering water quality.
Glacier Bottled WaterI am not an expert on glaciers, but I do know that
Several water bottlers have chosen a glacier as awhen Eklutna Glacier formed, however many years
symbol of purity. Some use the words "glacier" andago, its ice was not pure. Yes, its original snow was
"virgin" in labeling or advertising. But water quality doesfree of much contamination such as we know, but its
not always match the symbol. According tosnow was never chemically pure.
government and industry estimates, 25 to 40 percent1. Each flake of glacial snow began as a small droplet
of all bottled water is actually bottled tap water -of water or ice crystal that formed around a nucleus.
despite pictures of glaciers!The water needed a tiny particle around which it could
Before recent FDA intervention, the label on one brandcondense. It might have used a microscopic salt crystal
of bottled water read: "Alaska Premium Glacierreleased into the air by an ocean wave. It might have
Drinking Water: Pure Glacier Water From the Lastused a particle of ash from a forest fire. It might have
Unpolluted Frontier, Bacteria Free". Why was that badcondensed around ash from a volcanic eruption, but
if water quality in those bottles was so high? Theeach snowflake had to have that microscopic bit of
water apparently flowed into the bottles from Publicmaterial. Glacial water quality is affected by billions of
Water System #111241 in Juneau, Alaska, not fromold salt and ash particles.
glaciers.2. Each flake of glacial snow helped scrub acids from
Some bottlers imply top water quality by referring tothe atmosphere. Acid rain is not new - only industrial
their water's origins as streams flowing from glaciers,acid rain. The atmosphere contains about 350 ppm
or glacier-fed lakes, but in Alaska, such wording isCO2, and ancient volcanic eruptions filled the
forbidden.atmosphere rapidly with more CO2. When our glacial
"If it says 'glacier water,' it's got to be right from thesnowflakes fell, they dissolved some of that CO2, and
glacier without the influence of any other surfacemade carbonic acid snow. Glacial water quality is
sources," says Mike Gentry, program coordinator foraffected by "acid rain".
the Alaska State Department of Environmental3. Each flake of ancient glacial snow was further
Conservation's Food Safety and Sanitation Program.contaminated by animals. You have undoubtedly heard
He added that if it's a blend, direct glacier water couldof wooly mammoths. You have heard, too, of
have been mixed with other water from a stream ormigratory humans who likely hunted wooly mammoths.
a lake fed by glacier.Can we believe that neither the ancient animals nor the
If the label will read "pure glacier water," the bottlerhunters that stalked them ever walked on the glacier
must use water taken right from the glacier. He mayfrom which we are now urged to drink? As your
not add or remove minerals, but even glacier waterparents may have told you, "Never eat yellow snow."
quality can be changed by filtering and treatments.Glacial water quality is affected by "yellow snow".
The label on another brand of "Alaskan" bottled waterGlacial Water Quality in a High School Lab
(unchanged at the time of writing) boasted of highAs a former high school teacher and principal, I would
water quality:have to say that any high school science lab with a
"Mother Nature recycles all water. Get it from a river,distillation apparatus could supply better water quality
get it from a spring, get it from a well, seven yearsthan that found in a glacier. So do I want the water
ago that water was used by someone (or something)quality of glaciers?
else, unless... Unless your water was stored in the