Some bottled water actually IS just tap water...

[Robb]

This kills me. :)

BIOTA Spring Water

Does BIOTA really come from one of the highest springs in the world?
Yes. Snowmelt water is filtered over one hundred years through 13,000-foot peaks, emerging from its source 9,010 feet above sea level. We believe this spring, now in commercial use, is one of the highest and purest alpine springs in the world.

...What they don't say is what they mean by "commercial use"... the spring is the same one that the City of Ouray uses for municipal water. Exactly the same. In other words, tap water. :P

In Ouray, the local joke is that business owners will offer half-price refills. :D

[tridim]

1. Do they even filter it out of the tap?

If not, my tap water is better than their "spring" water because I filter mine. That's pretty funny. :) What's that old joke? Evian spelled backwards is naive.

[bigwillq]

2. It's my belief that most bottled water is tap water

Even if they tell us other wise, how the hell do we know their telling us the truth?

[pretzel4gore]

5. consider this too...

if you and your family somehow survived nuke war etc...after wondering around for few years you arrive at your house; you decide to live there.....you have everything, food, transport, good movies to watch, but you need water! so you a) build a filtration system, just like the county's b) build a tratment system, just like the county's c) pump the water to your house, just like the county...
and you live happily ever after :7

[MissB]

3. Not only that, but bottled water is regulated as a food

and doesn't have to meet the same stringent standards as drinking water (i.e.- tap water). So let's just hope that it is tap water.

[benburch]

4. Distilled water is the purest water.

Assuming that the bottling plant does not pollute it.

[jmowreader]

9. Yeah, but it tastes like ass!

OMG...when we were doing Hurricane Andrew relief, one of my jobs was to manage the bottled water supply for my camp. I had all of the water arranged by brand, date of arrival and so on, and every day I had to use this little test kit the medics gave me to check each lot of water to ensure it was still safe to drink.

About halfway through the mission, our Deer Park water went bad. All of it. I think it was sealed wrong, but all of it was contaminated by coliform so we had to get rid of it all--and some camps didn't have any other water on hand. We did some fast cross-leveling so all camps would have enough water to make it two days, then had FEMA start looking for a big stash of bottled water. Turns out Kroger had a shitload of water in a distribution center in the midwest, and the government bought all of it and flew it to Florida on three C-5Bs.

When we got our shipment of Kroger water, the first thing we did with it was run the little water test on it. We opened the truck, pulled out a jug, did the test, and while I was waiting for the different reactions to go to completion I glanced at the label. "Source: Toledo, Ohio, municipal water supply."

At least they're being up front about it. None of this "from crystal clear mountain springs" crap for Kroger water...there it's "We turned on the tap in Toledo and stuck an empty gallon jug under it."

[gizmo1979]

6. alot of it actually!

I think afew years back one was using Houston tap water ewwwwwww!!

[greendog]

7. The bottled water phenomenon is proof we are insane.

Problem: I'm thirsty.
Socialist solution: Turn on the faucet.
Capitalist solution: Buy a bottle of water.


Go to your local grocery store and take a look at the bottled water section. You'll find a dozen or more different "kinds" of water. This water is shipped hundreds or even thousands of miles.

Much of this "spring water" is just ground water pumped from a local gravel pit and run through a filter. Some isn't even as exotic as ground water...it's just the local municipal water. Some of this water starts out tasting horrible before having the nasty taste scrubbed out.

It's put in a plastic bottle with a fancy label and shipped across the country so you have an opportunity to choose the type of water that best suits your demographic.

If you're a woman you can choose water marketed specifically to your gender. It comes in a tall slender bottle with a pink and light blue label. It'll be called something like "Eve". It'll cost a few cents more than the gender neutral water but it's worth it 'cause it's made just for you.

If your an outdoorsy type you can get water with a picture of mountains on the label. If you're a thrifty type you can find water with a plainer label and a lower price...but, it'll cost you a few status points.

Getting your special water to you involves the work of many people. It requires specialists in marketing. You need multiple warehouses. You need drivers and large trucks.

You need companies that make the raw materials for the plastic. Then you have to ship the material to the bottle manufacturer. You need an industrial designer to design the bottle. The bottle will be made and labeled and shipped to the site where the water is bottled.

You need to have dedicated shelf space at the retail outlets. Some of the water must be refrigerated at the point of purchase.

And after you've bought and consumed your drink of water you get to choose whether you send your empty bottle to the landfill or give it to a re cycler who will bail it, put it on another truck, and ship it across the country to a place where it can be turned into yarn for carpet or upholstery.

[alarimer]

8. There is a lot of bottled water here in Texas

that comes from municipal water supplies, one from my very own town (i can't remember the brand though). They do filter it though, more than they do for tap water. I think tap water is (usually anyway) good enough here.