this is 2001 info.... nothing new.

I never buy bottled water , never had a time where I would prefer to spend money on bottled water over tap.

What really annoys me is when you go to Sporting events and Amusement parks and your only choice is to buy a 5cent bottle of water for $4.00. To me this is criminal they can make a healthy profit at $2.00. I will die of heat stroke before I buy bottled water at these prices.

I never understood how people can actually buy water. Don't like the taste? Buy a filter, or get some Mios. 90% of bottled water comes from a tap anyways. Saw a good Penn & Teller where they poured water from a rubber hose into a bunch of different glasses and had people do a tasting to tell which they liked best. ITS ALL THE SAME!!

Taste is subjective and that might be why someone buys bottled water. I grew up in the country drinking water straight from the tap. Where I lived had a lot of clay in the ground. This causes for naturally soft filtered water. Several miles away my aunt's place was on top of iron so the water had a little rust taste to it - yuck. I hate city water. I can't stand the chlorine. Running city water through a filter ends up making it a very bland taste. So I buy bottled water. I don't buy the fancy water, I buy the cheapest store brand I can find.

I will use the city tap water for cooking though, just not for drinking.

This "article" is ridiculous is irresponsible. Tap water is full of chlorine and unsafe levels of flouride, not to mention other "additives" that are toxic to some folks with certain health conditions. I won't touch tap water, not even for cooking.

The water where I live (city water - Ocala, FL) is disgusting. It stinks horribly. And there is tons of chlorine in it among other crap that I just don't want in my drinking water. Filters don't get out everything. I buy bottled water. End of story.

nc3mom wrote:This "article" is ridiculous is irresponsible. Tap water is full of chlorine and unsafe levels of flouride, not to mention other "additives" that are toxic to some folks with certain health conditions. I won't touch tap water, not even for cooking.

Saying all tap water has "unsafe" levels of "flouride" (flour paste, perhaps?) is pretty ridiculous too.

You reference New York tap water; I have heard from people who have lived their that their water is delicious compared to other regions; I don't have any issue with the tap water in Southern California, though I will say that the tap water up in Santa Cruz, CA had a very distinct taste that I did not care for, and it was strong enough to stand out through coffee when we used it to brew coffee in the morning. A Brita filter took care of that, though.

Dear Ken....


I don't want to drink chlorine or fluoride. Which water source adds these specific chemicals in to its water?

Unixrab

lynn820 wrote:Unfortunately, the assertion that tap water is as healthy as bottled is simply not true. If you live in the D.C. metropolitan area, your tap water has interesting levels of Prozac and estrogen, all from urine. The Prozac and the estrogen from birth control pills that is not used by the body of the user is excreted. The purifying process does not remove them.

Could you name a source. I'm actually curious because I live in NoVA in an area, which I believe, actually purchases water from the Washington water treatment facility.

Second comment: Wow. Having read through all these comments, I have to say there seem to be a large number of hypochondriacs in here. Outside of a few instances half-cited here (where there is significant groundwater contamination and the local supply of potable water comes from the local aquifer), tap water throughout the US is fine and poses no significant health risks.

An infinitesimal amount of chlorine or fluoride or aluminum or etc isn't going to kill you; many countries have far dirtier water than we do without correspondingly large health problems.

ragex wrote:In North Texas almost all tap water comes from the lakes. When August heat kicks in the lake water 'roils' and tap water stinks and tastes bad. You either use bottled water or a filtration system.

This is sooo true. I've only lived in Texas for about 9 months, but there was a period of time a few weeks ago where it smelled and tasted like dirt. I stick with the filter attached to the tap and the filter pitcher in the fridge

jawlz wrote:... tap water throughout the US is fine and poses no significant health risks.

This is also what they were telling people who could set their water on FIRE coming out of the tap...don't worry, it's completely safe! Drink up!

rocketdoctor wrote:I never buy bottled water , never had a time where I would prefer to spend money on bottled water over tap.

What really annoys me is when you go to Sporting events and Amusement parks and your only choice is to buy a 5cent bottle of water for $4.00. To me this is criminal they can make a healthy profit at $2.00. I will die of heat stroke before I buy bottled water at these prices.

Just buy a beer instead ;)

renae78 wrote:This is also what they were telling people who could set their water on FIRE coming out of the tap...don't worry, it's completely safe! Drink up!

Note the exception I pointed out in my post about local groundwater contamination. That doesn't change the *fact* that the *vast, vast* majority of tap water in the US is perfectly safe and healthful.

StanleyS wrote:You left out: "Of course, all my teeth are rotting, but you win some, you lose some."

I been drinking well water for 22+ years. My dentist says flouride toothpaste is sufficient for cavity prevention. I haven't had any cavities since I moved here, so I'm inclined to believe him. Probably just brushing twice a day is the key, fluoride or not.

This depends upon where you live. When I lived in Fresno, CA.. the tap water was horrendously disgusting. Bad taste, bad aftertaste.. however, in Medford, Oregon -- our water comes from a natural spring. Thus, as you can imagine -- it's about as pure as any bottled water. In fact, it is in the top 100 places for best tasting water. We also do NOT flouridate our water supply.

jerber8 wrote:What about the water I collect coming down off my roof during a rain shower? Just pick out the black specks and I'm good to go, right?

Just fill the downspouts of your gutters with Brita filters and you're all set.

HypnoticSilence wrote:Could you name a source. I'm actually curious because I live in NoVA in an area, which I believe, actually purchases water from the Washington water treatment facility.

I'd be curious to see your source too. While I don't live there anymore I spent 35 years of my life living in Montgomery County and never seemed to have issues or recall reading about them. I know the Potomac wasn't the cleanest source of water for quite some time in the 70s and 80s, but they've done a fairly good job cleaning it up since.
I was always happy enough drinking tap water. Of course that could be the Prozac talking...

whoiskenjennings wrote:Switch to vodka in massive quantities, so we can get anti-fluoridation nuts out of the gene pool asap.

And the cancer rates continue to rise.... #smh

In my area tap water is fine if you filter it. Filtered water from my tap tastes better than the bottled water at work.

I'm dismayed by this write ups complete disregard for the differences from city to city, and from house to house. Not to mention from moment to moment, as construction down the street occasionally tints water at the tap. On that note: if you have brown water, a Brita filter is actually good enough to clean it. Just call your water department if you have reason to question its safety.

I only drink unfiltered tap water when desperate.

my tap water is incredibly hard, off the chart, and acid, and frankly, tasted really awful. it's well water. We use it for coffee, and for cooking some things, most things, but hardly ever does anyone in my house drink it. Frankly, the filters might fix it, but...I'd never keep up with replacing them. I know this because I had whole-house filters, and I had filters in my refrigerator, and none of those stayed replaced.

Bah! It's all about convenience. I get a case of twenty-four 20oz bottles for $2.50 at Aldi. That's 11¢ each! Not only that but I can store them in my fridge and grab them on my way out the door and not have worry about filling up my reusable bottle, or bringing it back home to wash.

When the family heads out for the day I fill a cooler with bottled water and ice and we're good to go. No more being robbed at gas stations by paying $1.60 a bottle, or having to fill up with their skanky faucet.

I'll continue to use bottled water and will gladly pay the minimal cost to do so. You, of course, are free to do as you wish and it won't bother me in the slightest.

Bacon

Tap water and bottled water are essentially the same. Some companies add things to bottled water, and some are filtered, but for the most part, they're the same. You can sell tap water and call it spring water or whatever you want.

I prefer filtered tap water. You'd be amazed at what is found in tap water and bottled water; things like cyanide, pain killers, prescription drugs, heroin, and other crap you don't want to know you're drinking. Filtering it doesn't take it all out, but it does make it a lot safer.

I drink filtered tap water at home, because I'm too lazy to care. I do like the taste of some spring waters though--actual spring water, not Dasani type packaged tap water.

At work the water tastes like butts for some reason the building management can't or won't explain so we use mostly bottled water. There's a RO filter for the fridge but it only puts out about two gallons a day for a 50 person office so it only lasts until about 9.15am.

As a dentist I can say that most often it's best for children to drink tap water or filtered tap water. Some/many bottled waters remove the fluoride which daily helps protect the teeth by making them less susceptible to cavities as well as inhibiting the bacteria that can cause cavities. At least most filters will tell you if they leave fluoride in or not. Many parents think they're doing their kids a favor by giving them bottled water, but may not know that this could effect their risk for cavities. Of course many other factors are involved in the risk for cavities, mainly: diet (avoiding sugars & frequent/all day snacking), and oral hygiene (brushing 2x/day and flossing once per day). However, having water with fluoride bathing your kids teeth on a daily basis definitely helps

My tap water tastes and smells horrendous (we're on well water), not to mention will ruin appliances like my Keurig and Shark steamer, so we use a lot on Hinkley & Schmidt.

I like water. It quenches my thirst.
The pacific garbage patch is nasty.
Bottled water comes in bottles. Those bottles contain thirst quenching water. Yay!
The bottles are almost all plastic, and they end up in the pacific garbage patch, or somewhere else they don't belong. Boo!
Did you ever think that the bottled water companies (not all, but many) are getting a free ride by bottling the municipal water supply, which you paid for with your taxes, and then sell it back to you, in the hopes that you will not consume the water you paid to treat in the first place?
I'd rather that we taxed the heck out of bottled water, to renew out municipal water treatment facilities. Problem solved.

I also like bacon. A lot. But salty smoky delicious bacon fat is not a good replacement for water.

unixrab wrote:Dear Ken....


I don't want to drink chlorine or fluoride. Which water source adds these specific chemicals in to its water?

Unixrab

whoiskenjennings wrote:Switch to vodka in massive quantities, so we can get anti-fluoridation nuts out of the gene pool asap.

I'm sorry Ken, the correct answer is "What is tap water?" ;-)

people will pay for convenience