Bottled Water vs Tap Water

We were just at an event where a regular sized (20 FL oz) bottle of water cost $5.00. We decided to find the nearest water fountain instead. Not because we're cheep, but $5.00! Are your kidding me!?!

That got us thinking, in this economy how much do we spend on bottled water every week? The average refrigerated bottle of water costs $1.50 - $2.00 so... 10 bottles per week would cost between $15 & $20 per week, $60 - $80 per month, and $720 - $960 per year.

Even with all of the importance water holds in our lives, many of us know very little about the water we use each day. We drink tap water, enjoying the convenience and cost-effectiveness of this practice, yet, we fail to recognize the serious threat this water may pose to our health.

Those who are willing to forgo the convenience of tap water and indulge in bottled water often know very little about the contents of that water and simply trust that bottled water must be better than tap water. Even conscientious consumers, who wisely attempt to treat their own water in an effort to ensure the healthfulness of that water, often know little about the many home water treatment options now available.

Although people used to rely largely upon tap water to fulfill their daily quota of drinking water, in the last two decades, consumers have begun to shy away from this water source due to such public health scares. Bottled water companies, promising a purer, healthier water product than tap water, have expanded greatly in order to supply growing demands for quality drinking water. But, in many cases, bottled water is no purer than tap water, and it may not even taste better.

Bottled water companies, because they are not under the same accountability standards as municipal water systems, may provide a significantly lower quality of water than the water one typically receives from the tap. Bottled water, due to several factors, is clearly not a healthier or purer alternative to tap water. Also, bottled water is outrageously expensive when compared to the cost per gallon of tap water.

If one is choosing only between tap water and bottled water, tap water is plainly the more economical, and, in many cases, the healthier choice. Despite this assertion, tap water does not remain without its problems.