# Bottled water, why? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 24, 2009, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bottled-water-why/504081 "2009-07-24T04:06:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2009, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bottled-water-why/504081/61 "2009-07-27T18:12:47Z")
> [@Spiff](#): > > Sweet Jesus! Now I have to be worried about a government agency contaminating my water!!!??!??!?! 😃 Yeah…I guess I could have phrased that a little better. Or _maybe_ I’m reading too many conspiracy magazines! ---
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2009, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bottled-water-why/504081/62 "2009-07-27T23:41:56Z")
> [@tschild](#): > > The bottled water you refer to is just some kind of dechlorinated mains water, right? (because American seem always to refer to bottled water not mineral water). I don’t see much point in it except for convenience. > > OTOH mineral water _does_ have a point. I am glad my supermarket offers about 50 brands; occasionally I get a crate of some other kind to test (I prefer carbonated mineral water in glass bottles myself, preferably from in-state and without too much sodium). The tastes are really discernably different. > > The article referenced in the OP complains about PET bottles being wasteful and 86 % not being recycled - why, just use glass bottles and/or scheme with a sufficiently high deposit. Speaking of carbonated water, it has merits even without being the mineral sort. For some reason or another (I’ve never been curious enough to ask), my mom has trouble drinking flat water without occasionally gagging. So she gets the Fred Meyer/Kroger house-brand of lemon-lime (or is it just lime?) carbonated water, and we drink a lot of it. It’s inexpensive (70 cents for 2 liters) and easier than gagging. Occasionally we throw away bottles when we’re on long car trips and every now and then we cut up the bottles to make funnels or scoops or funnels and scoops, but usually the bottles go to the recycling center. If I buy flat bottled water, it’s because I need something ice-cold and I need it in a closed container because I need to be able to put in my bag. If there were any diet sodas that I could stand the artificial taste of, I’d probably be buying that instead. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bottled-water-why/504081/63 "2009-07-28T15:29:29Z")
> [@lolagranola](#): > > I can taste my tap water. I prefer my water to be tasteless. You don’t notice the plastic-y taste? Or do you get the kind bottled in glass? > [@Kalhoun](#): > > Does anyone out there in Doperland have anecdotal evidence of health problems due to tap water in the US? Only when Milwaukee had [our crypto outbreak](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milwaukee_Cryptosporidium_outbreak) about 15 years ago. Mostly, our tap water is very good. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bottled-water-why/504081/64 "2009-07-29T02:46:21Z")
Everytime you see a piece on the news it’s the same story. Consumers buy bottle water 'cause they think it’s better and it’s not. But it’s not so unusual. I know people that put high octane gas in their cars, spending more money, 'cause they think it’s better. Well now-a-days, you car manufacturer knows what octane you need and that is all you have to use. Certainly unless you have some sort of kidney disease or malfuntion, drinking water isn’t going to hurt you one bet, and it’s better than drinking pop or coffee. It’s just the cost. I actually filters on the water tap or the kind of pitchers that have filters over them produce very good tasting water cheaply. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bottled-water-why/504081/65 "2009-07-29T02:49:04Z")
I drink bottled water. Because I live in the Third World. “Bottled or Boiled”: Words to live by. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bottled-water-why/504081/66 "2009-07-29T03:35:10Z")
I do not regularly drink bottled water, mainly because the tap water where I live is excellent–as is the tap water from everywhere I’ve lived excepting the well water at my parents’ house, which has a sulphur odor. One other point: my own personal experience is that the people who say their home tap water is bad are basically lying. Many times, someone has told me not to drink their home tap water because it was “awful,” but when I actually sampled it, it tasted just fine. Excuses follow: “usually it’s a lot worse.” Bollocks. What we have here is the power of suggestion. Regular use of bottled water in the U.S. and most first-world nations is a stupid waste and environmentally questionable for most people. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bottled-water-why/504081/67 "2009-07-29T04:47:58Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > One other point: my own personal experience is that the people who say their home tap water is bad are basically lying. Many times, someone has told me not to drink their home tap water because it was “awful,” but when I actually sampled it, it tasted just fine. Excuses follow: “usually it’s a lot worse.” Bollocks. What we have here is the power of suggestion. Come to my house. COME TO MY HOUSE. I will very quickly correct your shit. I grew up drinking tap water. I didn’t stop for no good reason. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bottled-water-why/504081/68 "2009-07-29T05:09:42Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > Come to my house. COME TO MY HOUSE. I will very quickly correct your shit. I grew up drinking tap water. I didn’t stop for no good reason. I said “most,” not all. I also do not assume my personal experience reflects universal truth, but I do suspect many people who complain about their tap water in the U.S. are exaggerating or lying. Including you, actually. In any case, bottled water comes at an enormous environmental cost, and you have to know that it is far less regulated than tap water. Also remember that many, many toxic substances are odorless and tasteless. Edit: I notice you are from Phoenix. I experienced the “my tap water is awful” from four different relatives’ houses there, and it was just fine every time. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bottled-water-why/504081/69 "2009-07-29T05:31:28Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > I said “most,” not all. I also do not assume my personal experience reflects universal truth, but I do suspect many people who complain about their tap water in the U.S. are exaggerating or lying. Including you, actually. > > In any case, bottled water comes at an enormous environmental cost, and you have to know that it is far less regulated than tap water. > > Also remember that many, many toxic substances are odorless and tasteless. > > Edit: I notice you are from Phoenix. I experienced the “my tap water is awful” from four different relatives’ houses there, and it was just fine every time. If you pm me your address I will mail you a bottle of it and I can just about guarantee you will gag. I wish I still lived in that apartment in Scottsdale where you could see shit floating in the tap water. I mean, I don’t wish that because the place had scorpions and was overpriced, but for the purposes of this thread . . . ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bottled-water-why/504081/70 "2009-07-29T16:57:54Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > If you pm me your address I will mail you a bottle of it and I can just about guarantee you will gag. Alright, alright. I won’t doubt you any further. Uncle! ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bottled-water-why/504081/71 "2009-07-29T18:39:22Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > You don’t notice the plastic-y taste? Or do you get the kind bottled in glass? > > Only when Milwaukee had [our crypto outbreak](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milwaukee_Cryptosporidium_outbreak) about 15 years ago. Mostly, our tap water is very good. Jayzuz! I’m right down the road from youze guys and I never heard of this. That’s fuckin’ disgusting!! ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bottled-water-why/504081/72 "2009-07-29T19:57:35Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > Jayzuz! I’m right down the road from youze guys and I never heard of this. That’s fuckin’ disgusting!! You must not have been living in the area at the time, then (it was about 15 years ago)–\*\*everybody \*\*either got at least a little bit sick or knew people who did. ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bottled-water-why/504081/73 "2009-08-02T18:36:29Z")
Apart from all the US dopers in this thread who have told that their tap water tastes bad and /or is polluted with stuff, the other reason here in Germany is for health. But then, water in bottles in Germany is mineral water, regulated by the [Mineral and Health water regulation](http://bundesrecht.juris.de/min_tafelwv/BJNR010360984.html). (german) It must come from a certified mineral source, it must have been controlled by a lab (and the result, the contents, are displayed on the bottle label), and nothing has been added or removed except Iron excess and the regulation of CO2 levels (most mineral waters are sold in a normal carbonated and a mild version with low CO2). Since the different springs have different mineral content, they will also taste different, so some people prefer some brand over others. Some have high calcium content, which can be useful for people who don’t eat milk products. Those waters that have a low Natrium content are allowed to print “Can be used to prepare baby and sick people’s food” addtionally on their label. If you want to sell simple tap water in bottles in Germany, it must be called “Tafelwasser” (Table water) and not “Mineralwasser” (Mineral water). That’s why it was a huge scandal some years ago when it was discovered that a subsidy brand of Coca Cola had filled the bottles from London taps and sold it as Mineral water - that was serious fraud. While tap water in Germany can and has to be treated to reach acceptable levels in regard to bacteria and pollution, not evey location is lucky enough to have good water - some places have to add a lot of chlorine, and it’s still not very good. So when travelling to Southern Europe, where standars are less rigorous and sewage pipes may not be in good repair, or when traveling to some cities with bad water, the usual advice is to buy a big bottle of mineral water and use it for everything, including brushing teeth and so on, to avoid bacteria. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bottled-water-why/504081/74 "2009-08-03T06:32:52Z")
[QUOTE=Bosstone] ETA: Sorry, I should mention. “Here” is Phoenix, AZ. I don’t much like Dasani, but if Dasani is Philly tap water, at least it’s not Phoenix tap water. If Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water is tap, then I’ll gladly move to wherever has such freaking delicious tap water and never buy bottled again. [/QUOTE] Really? When my parents used to live in Scottsdale and I would go visit them; I specifically remember thinking how clean their tap water was. We’re talking about ten years ago; has it gone downhill since then? ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bottled-water-why/504081/75 "2009-08-03T18:49:37Z")
Where can you buy radioactive spring water? I mean the stuff that has dissolved radon in it. Is it good for you? ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bottled-water-why/504081/76 "2009-08-03T20:14:34Z")
So, some questions to all those dopers who sing the praise of US tap water as good enough to drink: 1. Who sets the water levels: community, state or federal legislation? 2. what are the water levels, for bacteria and other pollutants? 3. What kind of treatment - chlorine, UV lamps, … ? - is allowed/demanded to reach the regulated levels? 4. Who controls the levels - community, state, federal people? The water companies or an independent place? 5. How often are water companies fined, and how severe, for breaking the levels? Not very often because the controls are not done often enough, or because the water is clean enough? Because I keep hearing how low the regulation and control of drinking water in the US is, and how bad the quality therefore is (rivers catching fire?? Wow.) ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bottled-water-why/504081/77 "2009-08-03T20:23:57Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > I said “most,” not all. I also do not assume my personal experience reflects universal truth, but I do suspect many people who complain about their tap water in the U.S. are exaggerating or lying. Including you, actually. Wow. What reason do you have to assume that people are intentionally exaggerating or **lying**? (Isn’t that against the rules, to call people liars without proof?) If you had suggested some form of bias in taste, that might be possible and would be interesting to investigate, but to flat out suspect this, without showing any evidence… Esp. considering that enviromental and health organisations have pointed out pollution of water a lot of times in the US, so it’s not far-fetched to assume some basis that the tap water is less than good. > [@](#): > > In any case, bottled water comes at an enormous environmental cost, and you have to know that it is far less regulated than tap water. What enormous enviromental cost? Sure importing Evian from France to the US is a waste of energy and should not be done, but the normal way (at least in Germany) is to buy local mineral water. Do you have a quote that bottled water in the US is less regulated than tap water? I only know that both are strictly regulated, but differently in Germany. > [@](#): > > Also remember that many, many toxic substances are odorless and tasteless. Yes, obviously. But if your water smells or taste bad, it’s a good guess that other substances are also in there, because it indicates either lack of controls or lack of regulation. > [@](#): > > Edit: I notice you are from Phoenix. I experienced the “my tap water is awful” from four different relatives’ houses there, and it was just fine every time. That would be a wonderful opportunity to do a test: have somebody (double-blind) set up water glasses with each of the four tap waters, and some bottled mineral water for comparision (both the brands your relatives drink usually instead, and a different brand) and have your relatives and yourself taste and rate the water. Maybe it will turn out your relatives are biased against tap water, but can’t taste the difference blind. Or maybe it will turn out you are biased for tap water, and like the taste less blind. Or maybe you have less developed taste then your relatives. ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bottled-water-why/504081/78 "2009-08-03T20:27:38Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Where can you buy radioactive spring water? I mean the stuff that has dissolved radon in it. From a spring whose water dissolves through radon-containing rocks. It might be on the label, or not. Some Health organisations have tested the water themselves and listed those water, so it should probably be avoided. > [@](#): > > Is it good for you? IANAD, but given how much effort people take to seal their cellars against radon, I assume it’s very not healthy for you. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bottled-water-why/504081/79 "2009-08-03T21:21:31Z")
> [@constanze](#): > > Wow. What reason do you have to assume that people are intentionally exaggerating or **lying**? [snip] If you had suggested some form of bias in taste, that might be possible and would be interesting to investigate, but to flat out suspect this, without showing any evidence… IIRC there \*\*have \*\*been blind taste-tests done where people who claim to prefer bottled water to tap actually prefer the tap water. > [@](#): > > What enormous enviromental cost? Plastic bottles, most of which are thrown away. Even recycling them isn’t terribly efficient (and I’m pretty sure it creates toxic by-products). ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bottled-water-why/504081/80 "2009-08-03T21:29:52Z")
And a few cites, just from a two-second Google search… [ABC News article](http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Health/Story?id=728070&page=1): > [@](#): > > We ran a taste test, offering people New York City tap water and five other bottled waters [snip] Many who took our taste test were bottled water drinkers. They pay for it, they say, because tap water just doesn’t taste as good. [snip] Lots of people said one of the waters was particularly bad. Was that the tap water? No. Tap water did pretty well. Even people who said they don’t like it, liked it on the blind test. [UC Riverside taste-test](http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/WRCA/WRC/pdfs/tastetest_21Apr07.pdf) (PDF): > [@](#): > > The UC Center for Water Resources conducted a blind taste test of public water supply (tap water) and bottled water [snip] For the 382 people who tasted the water and submitted ballots: > 160 (42%) favored water A (the public water supply) > 214 (56%) favored the water B (bottled water delivered to a home) > 8 (2%) were not able to distinguish the difference [Telegraph article](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1572840/Tap-water-beats-bottles-in-taste-test.html): > [@](#): > > London tap water has been rated superior to expensive mineral waters in a blind tasting conducted by some of the most sophisticated drinkers in the country. [snip] Hardly any of the esteemed tasters realised that the London water, drawn from a kitchen tap in South Kensington, was the cheapest. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bottled-water-why/504081.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bottled-water-why/504081.md?page=5)