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Water and Regulations What is bottled water? My cooler is leaking. What
do I do?
Delivery Questions Why do I keep running out of water before the delivery man
comes?
Water is classified as "bottled water" or "drinking water" if it meets all applicable federal and state standards, is sealed in a sanitary container and is sold for human consumption. Bottled water cannot contain sweeteners or chemical additives (other than flavors, extracts or essences) and must be calorie-free and sugar-free. Flavors, extracts and essences -- derived from spice or fruit -- can be added to bottled water, but these additions must comprise less than one percent by weight of the final product. Beverages containing more than the one-percent-by-weight flavor limit are classified as soft drinks, not bottled water. In addition, bottled water may be sodium-free or contain "very low" amounts of sodium. Some bottled waters contain natural or added carbonation. [ Back to top ] What are the different types of bottled water? There are several different varieties of bottled water. The product may be labeled as bottled water, drinking water or any of the following terms. The Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) product definitions for bottled water are: Artesian Water\Artesian Well Water: Bottled water from a well that taps a confined aquifer (a water-bearing underground layer of rock or sand) in which the water level stands at some height above the top of the aquifer. Drinking Water: Drinking water is another name for bottled water. Accordingly, drinking water is water that is sold for human consumption in sanitary containers and contains no added sweeteners or chemical additives (other than flavors, extracts or essences). It must be calorie-free and sugar-free. Flavors, extracts or essences may be added to drinking water, but they must comprise less than one-percent-by-weight of the final product or the product will be considered a soft drink. Drinking water may be sodium-free or contain very low amounts of sodium. Mineral Water: Bottled water containing not less than 250 parts per million total dissolved solids may be labeled as mineral water. Mineral water is distinguished from other types of bottled water by its constant level and relative proportions of mineral and trace elements at the point of emergence from the source. No minerals can be added to this product. Purified Water: Water that has been produced by distillation, deionization, reverse osmosis or other suitable processes and that meets the definition of purified water in the United States Pharmacopoeia may be labeled as purified bottled water. Other suitable product names for bottled water treated by one of the above processes may include "distilled water" if it is produced by distillation, "deionized water" if the water is produced by deionization, or "reverse osmosis water" if the process used is reverse osmosis. Alternatively "_____________ drinking water" can be used with the blank being filled in with one of the terms defined in this paragraph (e.g. "purified drinking water" or "distilled drinking water"). Sparkling Water: Water that after treatment and possible replacement with carbon dioxide contains the same amount of carbon dioxide that it had at emergence from the source. (An important note: soda water, seltzer water and tonic water are not considered bottled waters. They are regulated separately, may contain sugar and calories, and are considered soft drinks.) Spring Water: Bottled water derived from an underground formation from which water flows naturally to the surface of the earth. Spring water must be collected only at the spring or through a bore hole tapping the underground formation finding the spring. Spring water collected with the use of an external force must be from the same underground stratum as the spring and must have all the physical properties, before treatment, and be of the same composition and quality as the water that flows naturally to the surface of the earth. Kepwel is Spring Water. Well Water: Bottled water from a hole bored, drilled or otherwise constructed in the ground which taps the water of an aquifer. [ Back to top ] How do I know my bottled water is safe? Consumers can trust that bottled water is safe for many reasons. The first is that bottled water is strictly regulated on the federal level by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and on the state level by state officials. This ensures that all bottled water sold in the United States meets these stringent standards. In addition, members of the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA), who produce about 85% of the bottled water sold in the United States, must meet strict industry standards established by the association. These standards, contained in the IBWA "Model Code," exceed the FDA regulations currently in place for bottled water. To ensure that all their bottled water is as safe as possible and of the highest quality, all IBWA members use one or more of the following practices: source protection and monitoring, reverse osmosis, distillation, filtration, ozonation and dis-infection. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), bottled water has never been responsible for an outbreak of waterborne illness. [ Back to top ] How is bottled water different from tap water? Consistent quality and taste are two of the principle differences between bottled water and tap water. Quality is in every container of bottled water. It's consistent and it is inspected and monitored by governmental and private laboratories. Unfortunately, tap water can be inconsistent -- sometimes it might be okay while other times it is not. While bottled water originates from protected sources (75% from underground aquifers and springs), tap water comes mostly from river sand lakes. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has reported that hundreds of tap water sources have failed to meet minimum standards. Another factor to consider is the distance tap water has to travel and what it goes through before it reaches the tap. Taste is the other major reason people prefer bottled water versus tap water. Chlorine is most often used to disinfect tap water. That can leave an aftertaste and lead to other problems. Some bottlers use ozone, a form of supercharged oxygen, and/or ultraviolet light as the final disinfecting agents, both of which leave no taste or chemical trace. [ Back to top ] Is bottled water regulated? The bottled water industry is regulated on three levels: Federal, State and
Trade Association. Is Kepwel Spring Water tested? Kepwel Spring Water is tested daily by our
staff for contamination. Kepwel is tested by a State My cooler is leaking on the floor. What do I do? First of all take the bottle off your cooler
and place it outside or in the sink. 95% of the time the problem is caused by a
small hairline crack in the bottle and not your cooler. You may not have noticed
this crack when you put the bottle on, but it will slowly overflow on the inside
of your cooler. It may look like your cooler is leaking, but it actually is the
bottles fault. After taking the bottle off the cooler, unplug the cooler
and drain the rest of the water through the spigots. Dry the area around the
cooler and put a new bottle on and plug the electric back in. Please tape
a note on the cracked bottle so we can credit your account. If you put a new
bottle on after a leaky bottle without draining your cooler all the way, it may
make the next good bottle overflow also. In the other 5% of the cases your
cooler may have a broken spigot or loose or broken hot tank valve. If you are SURE
that your cooler has a problem other than a cracked bottle, please give customer
service a call. Sorry for the mess! You can make slight adjustment to the cold thermostat. On the back of the cooler, behind the black grates you will find a small brass colored screw. With a small flat head screw driver you can turn the screw 1/4 turn clockwise to make the cooler colder. If you find that your cooler is too cold or freezing up, then turn the screw 1/4 turn counter clockwise. Make slight adjustments to get the temp you want. If your cooler is not getting cold at all please check your electrical outlet for power. My Hot and Cold cooler is not making hot water? If you are still getting cold water from the cold spigot then you should first check the back of your cooler for a black switch with the number 1 and 0 on it. Please make sure the switch is set to 1. If you can't find the Hot Tank switch it may be located under the top of your cooler or if you have an older model cooler you may not have a Hot Tank switch. One more suggestion! Please make sure you have a Hot & Cold cooler before you give us a call. Some folks have been mistaking our 2 spigot Cook and Cold coolers for Hot & Cold coolers. If you are not getting cold water from the cold spigot then check to see if you have electricity at the outlet. Power surges and lightning can blow the circuit breaker in your house. Also plugging in too many appliances on the same circuit can trip the breaker. Hot water is coming out both spigots? Unplug the cooler immediately and give us a call! There are a couple reasons why this may happen, but most will be best explained by our technical staff. Why do I keep running out of water before the delivery man comes? It is important to understand that we cannot forecast your consumption of Spring Water. This is why we require a first delivery of at least 4 bottles. We have found that the average family or small office uses about 4 bottles per month. We also strongly suggest that you give us a call when you have at least 1 full bottle left. This gives us some time to schedule your next delivery and if you are consistently drinking 4 bottles per month or even every 2 weeks we will put you on a regular delivery schedule. If you know you're going to need more water for a party or guests, please let us know as soon as possible. And last but certainly not least, we apologize if we have messed up or missed your delivery and we will do all we can to get it corrected in the future.
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