Tap Water v. Bottled Water

[Knockwurst]

An interesting question arose from a post in Politics even though what started as a joke, quickly degenerated into an AC cluster [censored].

The issue is -- Considering environmental impact, health and well-being, cost and enjoyment, what is better: tap water (filtered if you like) or bottled water, such as Poland Springs, Evian, etc.

Pros and Cons

Bottled water wastes an incredible amount of resources in its packaging.

Bottled water's packaging is harmful to the environment, as non-recylced plastics take very long to degrade.

Bottled water takes a resource that is for everyone and turns it into a commodity that not everyone can afford.

Bottled water is expensive. Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?

Most tap water has less bacteria and other contaminates.
--------------------------
Bottled water tastes better (to those who buy it presumably).

You look cooler in a restaurant drinking bottled water as opposed to tap.

Bottled water is often more convenient (for carrying around, etc.).

The difference in cost, for a single person, maybe a couple of hundred a year, is minimal.

My building may have rusty pipes or other contaminates.

The debate made me seriously question for the first time my purchasing of bottled water. (I live in NYC, btw).

Any insights from the Lounge?

[Vincent]

Some bottled water lacks fluoride.

[MrWookie]

[ QUOTE ]
Some bottled water lacks fluoride.

[/ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
General Jack D. Ripper: Mandrake, do you realize that in addition to fluoridating water, why, there are studies underway to fluoridate salt, flour, fruit juices, soup, sugar, milk... ice cream. Ice cream, Mandrake, children's ice cream.
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Lord, Jack.
General Jack D. Ripper: You know when fluoridation first began?
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: I... no, no. I don't, Jack.
General Jack D. Ripper: Nineteen hundred and forty-six. Nineteen forty-six, Mandrake. How does that coincide with your post-war Commie conspiracy, huh? It's incredibly obvious, isn't it? A foreign substance is introduced into our precious bodily fluids without the knowledge of the individual. Certainly without any choice. That's the way your hard-core Commie works.
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Uh, Jack, Jack, listen, tell me, tell me, Jack. When did you first... become... well, develop this theory?
General Jack D. Ripper: Well, I, uh... I... I... first became aware of it, Mandrake, during the physical act of love.
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Hmm.
General Jack D. Ripper: Yes, a uh, a profound sense of fatigue... a feeling of emptiness followed. Luckily I... I was able to interpret these feelings correctly. Loss of essence.
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Hmm.
General Jack D. Ripper: I can assure you it has not recurred, Mandrake. Women uh... women sense my power and they seek the life essence. I, uh... I do not avoid women, Mandrake.
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: No.
General Jack D. Ripper: But I... I do deny them my essence.

[/ QUOTE ]

Perhaps this post isn't totally TLDR material, but we're allowed to tell jokes here, right?

[JPinAZ]

A lot of bottled water is simply purified (R/O, distilled, etc) tap water.

[kutuz_off]

[ QUOTE ]
The debate made me seriously question for the first time my purchasing of bottled water. (I live in NYC, btw).


[/ QUOTE ]

Ditto here. Enviromental impact of all this plastic is pretty big, I suppose. "Convenience" pros are easily rebutted by filling the one bottle you have with tap water over and over. I think I will stop buying bottled water for now, unless I get convinced that tap water tastes bad.

[QTip]

[ QUOTE ]
purified

[/ QUOTE ]

Yummy.

Buying bottled water on any type of regular basis is really not a wise decision. Not only for all the reasons listed by the OP, but not a financially sound decision either.

A consumer can get purified water at their kitchen sink for a LOT less money in buying a reverse osmosis system for their home. A lot more convenient as well as better than most bottled waters.

[Green Kool Aid]

I used to HATE people who insisted on bottled water. The town I grew up in has really good tap water though. I live in the Boston area now, and the water is so gross--I drink mostly bottled now.

[QTip]

[ QUOTE ]
unless I get convinced that tap water tastes bad.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not sure why people are so concerned about how water looks or tastes. We're talking about something so important to our bodies. More than half of our bodies are water. Loss of 15-20 of water in our bodies can be fatal. It quenches thirst, aids digestion, cools the body, flushes out wastes, carries nutrients to cells, reduces risk of kidney stones, lubricates joins, relieves headaches, curbs appetite and snacking.

• 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated.

• In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it’s often mistaken for hunger.

• Even mild dehydration will slow down one’s metabolism by as much as 3%

• One glass of water shut down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of dieters studied in a University of Washington study.

• Lack of water is the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.

• Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of high quality water could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers.

• A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or printed page.

• Drinking five glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%, and one is 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer.

Considering all these things, doesn't it just make sense to replenish the body with the highest quality water possible?

[milesdyson]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
unless I get convinced that tap water tastes bad.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not sure why people are so concerned about how water looks or tastes. We're talking about something so important to our bodies. More than half of our bodies are water. Loss of 15-20 of water in our bodies can be fatal. It quenches thirst, aids digestion, cools the body, flushes out wastes, carries nutrients to cells, reduces risk of kidney stones, lubricates joins, relieves headaches, curbs appetite and snacking.

• 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated.

• In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it’s often mistaken for hunger.

• Even mild dehydration will slow down one’s metabolism by as much as 3%

• One glass of water shut down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of dieters studied in a University of Washington study.

• Lack of water is the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.

• Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of high quality water could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers.

• A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or printed page.

• Drinking five glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%, and one is 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer.

Considering all these things, doesn't it just make sense to replenish the body with the highest quality water possible?

[/ QUOTE ]
my BSometer went off like crazy when i read this list. it's hilariously retarded sounding, and of course you cite no source.

so i searched snopes, and sure enough the whole thing is pure BS from some 2001 bulk email.

i always wonder why people don't do their research before spouting this stuff as gospel. when you see a list of bullet points with references to "studies" and percentages, you should doubt the sht out of it.

glad to be of service.

i drink bottled water because it tastes better btw.

[John Feeney]

Threads on this come up periodically on 2+2. If I do say so, there's usually some serious misinformation tossed about. I've been picky about my water for years, so have tried to keep on top of the issue. Still, the answer, IMO, is a bit muddled. A few points:

1) Those who insist tap water is generally purer than bottled are only right if they're talking about some instances of spring water which has been left unprocessed. Bottled water consisting of tap water purified by reverse osmosis or distillation is obviously purer than unprocessed tap water.

Moreover, the tap water in many US cities does contain some toxins you really shouldn't want to drink. Arsenic is a good example. Some cites, like Albuequerque, have very high levels of arsenic in their tap water:

http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/u...lbuquerque.pdf

So there can be good reason to want to drink something purer than the straight tap water of your city.

2) Muddying the waters though (no pun) is the issue of the environmental impact of bottled water. It's certainly an important consideration.

3) Also, complicating the issue is that there is evidence that drinking water stored in plastic may not be good for you. Many kinds of plastics leach substances such as BPA, thought to interfere with the endocrine system:

http://www.ourstolenfuture.org/

So bottled water may have its own problems.

Incidentally, Nalgene sports water bottles may be among the worst offenders in this regard. There are stainless steel and other alternatives.

4) You can install a home reverse osmosis system, or a home distiller. If you don't care about the wasted water in the former or the extra power usage in the latter it could be the way to go. (But those are environmental considerations too.) Distillation probably does the slightly better job of purifying water. Both remove arsenic and almost all other harmful sustances.

5) One good way to go, is to live in a town with exceptionally pure tap water. I'm lucky enough to find myself in this situation now. We use an under-the-sink filter as well, just to get out some basics like residual chlorine.

If we lived elsewhere, I'd seriously consider RO or distillation.