Federal regulations require that bottled water "manufacturers" establish that their water is really coming from springs before they can label it "natural spring water."
A good question for an investigative reporter to ask would be: Why, in the minutes of the special Evart City Council meeting of 1/24/05, does the following passage appear with respect to that city's sale of water from its supply to Nestle Corporation for bottling and export out of the Great Lakes region?
"The Spring Water Agreement is being reviewed...and is to be on the agenda at the next Council meeting. It is to state in the agreement, the City does not agree with Nestle that the water they are purchasing is Spring Water."
It's not, but they're going to call it that on the bottle?
Read this from a bottled water industry site:
What are FDA Standard of Identity?
FDA requires uniform use of terms like "purified" and "spring," so consumers can be sure different companies use the same descriptions consistently on their product labels. For example, a bottle marked "spring water" must be from a spring. One-fourth of bottled water comes from municipal sources, rather than a spring or well. The FDA requires these products be labeled "from a community water system" or "from a municipal source." However, if this water goes through a purification process such as distillation or reverse osmosis, FDA has determined that the product can be defined by the type of purification (i.e.; "drinking water"), rather than as from a municipal source.
http://www.finewaters.com/FAQ/Federal%2C_State_Industry_Regulations.asp