Ban the Bottle: It’s Time to a New Way to Get Water to Lab Animals

As a citizen of California, I am aware that , in this state, we are in short supply of water. This winter, we received about 80 % of our normal rainfall. With global warming changing our climate, we could see future shortages. Long-term drought conditions will force state and local governments to monitor and restrict water usage. This will cause the price of using this commodity to continue to rise.

As a technician in biomedical research, I say that it is time to stop or even ban the use of water bottles. May companies already have switched or are doing so now. Others, however, still cling to this aniquated method of delivering water to their laboratory animals. It is time to retire this method.

Water bottles are a flawed delivery system because:

1. They leak.The caps have to be manually palced on the bottles, causing an improper seal. Many times I have found flooded cages.
2. They waste water. The bottles have to be changed before they are empty. The excess water is dumped down the drain. This wastes many gallons of water per year.
3. They waste energy. Home much fuel is burned to wash and autoclave bottles? If we did not use them, we could cut our energy use.
4. They are ergonomically unsound. They create a lifting hazard, both with clean and dirty bottles. They add to repetitve movement hazard when changing. This adds to health care costs.

There are alternatives. One solution is the Hydropac by Lab Products. Replacing the bottle with a plastic pouch helps solve the ergonomic problems. It is light weigh and economical to use.

The automatic water may be the best way to go. Animals only get water when needed. There are no containers to clean. This will reduce cage changing time. It may also prevent cross contamination. The water can be treated to the lab’s needs. No water is wasted. No unnecessary fuel costs spent.

Overall, I believe that the water bottle has outlasted its time in biomedical research. In our ade of dwindling resources, we need to think green and save water, fuel, time and money. Lets ban the bottle!