Tap water vs bottled/filtered water

[akrus]

I got a mailing the other day from the people at Waterloo Region, this mailing was touting how safe our tap water is and the cost differences between bottled and tap.

I'm located in Kitchener and after listening to David Suzuki's position on drinking bottled water (http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2007/02/01/suzuki-water.html) along with this recent mailing, I've made the change to drink tap water (when I'm out of Guinness, that is...). Now, we also have a water cooler that gets fed with the big jugs of water, so it's still an option for those that just won't drink it out of the tap, but I'm curious - Does any one drink tap water?

When we were kids, playing in the backyard, it was nothing to grab the hose and get a quick drink. Parents nowadays react like their kid drank antifreeze. Was the water better back then or is it more a case of ignorance and media/corporations brainwashing us?

I remember Walkerton, but if an incompetent person can work for the municipality and be key to the failure of the system - I have to think that the same can happen in a factory where water is bottled.

For the purpose of this poll, let's consider any filtration other than municipal to be "Other". So, if you have reverse osmosis or even a Brita filter, consider that to be Other in the poll.

[mjongstra]

The water that we drink at home is always tap water. The sink in the kitches has a filter on it and is where we primarily drink from but i've tasted the water coming from the unfiltered tap in my bathroom and it tastes fine. I have no problem with drinking tap water and don't really understand why some people do.

[Smully]

We always drink tap water, fresh out ah the tap as opposed to sittin in a plastic, bottle for weeks, P,T. Barnum, said theres one born every minute.

[dekker]

most of the water consumed in our house comes directly from the tap and run through a carbon type filter. I wouldn't hesitate to drink it directly from the tap, but out of habit we have adapted to a filter system. I don't buy any bottled water,excepting on a golf course,because the price is just ridiculous.

[cdnputter]

Some plastic bottles can leach the chemicals they are made of back into your drink, gatorade or water or whatever. If you bottle water then you might want to consider getting a good drinking container. I get mine from MEC (http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=84552444177 2295&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302696609&bmUID=1207664042552), they are inexpensive and easy to clean.

[goshawk]

I've tried bottled water (different "brands) and can't understand the fascination of paying extra for basically the same thing. Also, my partner's son was brought up drinking water from the kitchen sink. Until last year when he decided to start drinking bottled water exclusively, he never had a cavity. He just had 3 cavities filled last month. He's back to tap water again. To me, that's a strike against non-flouridated bottled water.

[Pingnut]

I drink Mississauga tap water all the time at Work.. but in Oakville, I've noticed an algea smell from the tap water on occasion so I drink bottled water at home.

[LowPost42]

I drink the bottled water here, as I'm on point and the water has high iron and is slightly acidic. I don't like having a glass of water and having it taste like I bit my tongue.

My neigbour just had a system installed and claims it makes the water 'perfect' - when the snow melts I'll head over for a glass of water or two (then very likely have my own system installed).

When in town, I wouldn't drink the water. I had no desire to consume the rust inhibitor and chlorine they were adding to make the water 'safe'. I'll pop flouride tabs if need be.

[Section ThirtyOne]

Since moving to Ottawa, my wife and I both drink the tap water. It's surprisingly good here.

Back in K-W we drank strictly filtered water (reverse osmosis) as the tap water was wretched. Yuck!

[guitarman]

Stricly bottled water for me. I live in Brantford and the tap water is terrible. The chlorination water is so heavy that it tastes like I'm drinking chlorinated pool water.

[Flog]

I drink Mississauga tap water all the time at Work.. but in Oakville, I've noticed an algea smell from the tap water on occasion so I drink bottled water at home.

The new filtration plant in Oakville is almost up and running by the looks of things.
I drink the tap water in Burlington and it's just fine. We have a water filter on the fridge and while my wife and kids use it, I don't bother. I actually find the tap water to be excellent quality with no disagreeable odour or taste.

[laxgolf]

I've tried bottled water (different "brands) and can't understand the fascination of paying extra for basically the same thing. Also, my partner's son was brought up drinking water from the kitchen sink. Until last year when he decided to start drinking bottled water exclusively, he never had a cavity. He just had 3 cavities filled last month. He's back to tap water again. To me, that's a strike against non-flouridated bottled water.

I read a short article about kids that drink tap water vs kids that drink battled water. The kids that drank tap water had healthier teeth and gums. They also benefitted from the minerals that was put into the water. After reading that my 3 year old drinks tap water.

The best water I've ever had was up in Huntsville. I used to play lacrosse up there and bring containers that I'd fill up in the arena.

[guitarman]

The kids that drank tap water had healthier teeth and gums. They also benefitted from the minerals that was put into the water. After reading that my 3 year old drinks tap water.



Healthier teeth is probably due to the flouridation of the water. As far as added minerals, I doubt that minerals are added to the water. They would most likely be there naturallly from the source of the water.
It all depends on where you live and if the water really bothers you. Myself I can't bring myself to drink brantford water but I've been in other towns where drinking the tap water was fine. I'm sure most bottled water is just tap water but it is most likely tap water run through reverse osmosis. As long as there is no bad taste I don't care.

[Kace]

Back in K-W we drank strictly filtered water (reverse osmosis) as the tap water was wretched. Yuck!

I have to disagree with you there...maybe you had bad air filtering in your house but K-W water is and always has been great. I'd put it second in tap water behind Stratford...who has amazingly great tap water.

[laxgolf]

Healthier teeth is probably due to the flouridation of the water. As far as added minerals, I doubt that minerals are added to the water. They would most likely be there naturallly from the source of the water.
It all depends on where you live and if the water really bothers you. Myself I can't bring myself to drink brantford water but I've been in other towns where drinking the tap water was fine. I'm sure most bottled water is just tap water but it is most likely tap water run through reverse osmosis. As long as there is no bad taste I don't care.

I believe some municipalities add minerals to tap water. Could be wrong about that though, but the article i read specifically mentioned added minerals. I know for a fact that Aquafina is demineralized tap water. Also, I believe only 30% of a bottle of water needs to be from a spring to be considered spring water. The other 70% could very well be tap water. When I lived in St. Catharines, I thought the water always taste like dirt (literally). Burlington's water is pretty good.

[skt07]

Some plastic bottles can leach the chemicals they are made of back into your drink, gatorade or water or whatever. If you bottle water then you might want to consider getting a good drinking container. I get mine from MEC (http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=84552444177 2295&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302696609&bmUID=1207664042552), they are inexpensive and easy to clean.

If the MEC bottles you're referring to are made by Nalgene, then you should know that MEC has stopped selling Nalgene bottles, because they are made of polycarbonate plastic, which contain bisphenol A, and may be hazardous to your health. Just a heads up if you're concerned about chemicals leaching into your drinks.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071208.waterbottleISL/BNStory/National/home

[Golden Bear]

Neither. In warm-weather seasons, I collect the dew from tree leaves and flowers every morning, and drink it throughout the day. In winter, I catch snowflakes on my tongue, let them melt in my mouth, and then spit them into a glass jar that I fill over the course of the day. (Swallowing the snowflakes right away is just wasteful.)

[davepratt]

We have no issue with tap water. I also read that cavities in kids are on the upswing due to the lack of flouride in bottled water. I don't like to do it, but I keep a few cases of bottled water around for when I'm showing houses to clients. They appreciate having water available as sometimes we're on the road for 3 or 4 hours at a time. I love the labeling on one brand that says "may contain tap water". Someone else mentioned the rip off part of it. Ask the boys at the RCGA who were charging thirsty families $4.50 for a small water.

[laxgolf]

Back in the day when I worked for Coke I delivered bottled water (Evian) to a Famous Players movie theatre. I think back then they paid around $6 per case. That evening, my girlfriend and I went to see a movie at the same theatre and she wanted a bottle of water. I nearly fell over when the single bottle cost me $4.

[mr.poker]

Bottled water manufacturers? marketing campaigns capitalize on isolated instances of contaminated public drinking water supplies by encouraging the perception that their products are purer and safer than tap water.

But the reality is that tap water is actually held to more stringent quality standards than bottled water, and some brands of bottled water are just tap water in disguise. What?s more, our increasing consumption of bottled water ? more than 22 gallons per U.S. citizen in 2004 according to the Earth Policy Institute ? fuels an unsustainable industry that takes a heavy toll on the environment.

Water consumption. The growth in bottled water production has increased water extraction in areas near bottling plants, in some cases leading to water shortages that affect nearby consumers and farmers. In addition to the millions of gallons of water used in the plastic-making process, 2 gallons of water are wasted in the same purification processes for every gallon that goes into the bottles.

The next time you feel thirsty, forgo the bottle and turn on the tap. You?ll lower your environmental impact and save money ? bottled water can cost up to 10,000 times more per gallon than tap water! And because the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency?s standards for tap water are slightly more stringent than the U.S. Food and Drug Administration?s standards for bottled water, you?ll be drinking water that?s just as safe as, or safer than, bottled.

If, however, you don?t like the taste of your tap water or are unsure of its quality, you can buy a filter pitcher or install an inexpensive faucet filter to remove trace chemicals and bacteria. If you will be away from home, fill a reusable bottle from your tap and refill it along the way; travel bottles that have built-in filters also are available.

Food and Water Watch, a nonprofit organization that recently launched the ?Take Back the Tap? campaign to get consumers to ditch bottled water, points out that the federal share of funding for water systems has declined from 78 percent in 1973 to 3 percent today. Victoria Kaplan, senior organizer with the organization, urges consumers to ?support public policies that promote safe, affordable, public tap water for future generations.? Visit Food & Water Watch and make the pledge to take back the tap, promising to choose tap water over bottled whenever possible and to support policies that promote clean public tap water for everybody.

http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/ (http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/)

[akrus]

I'm quite surprised to find that it's pretty much a dead split between tap and bottled/purified water. Some very interesting points made above. I've just walked in the door and dug up the Region of Waterloo Environews paper that caused me to rethink my personal behaviour and therefore post this poll.

Here are some of the points:

Tap wat is environmentally- friendly and convenient
- turning on the tap means no bottles to discard;
- seven times more water is required to make a plastic bottle than the bottle holds;
- bottled water is often shipped far from it's source resulting transportation and greenhouse gas emissions;

Tap water is much less expensive than bottled water
- $1.20 will buy 1000 liters of tap water but you'll need $2000 to buy the same amount in bottles;

Tap water is safe
- tap water in Waterloo Region is subjected to 120 different water quality tests;
- tap water must pass over 10000 of thes tests each year;
- tap water quality reports are made public. Visit www.region.waterloo.on.ca/water (http://www.region.waterloo.on.ca/water) ;
- some bottled water is actually tap water

So, I can understand that in some areas the ability to provide treated/tested water may be an issue, but for those of us in cities, it should be quite plentiful and safe. The taste is certainly a personal thing and like many have said there are ways around that.

In the end, for me - it's great just to have to choice - way too many in this world don't.

[Greywolf]

I drink tap water, the girlfriend prefers bottled water and buys it regularly.

[mr.poker]

I drink tap water, the girlfriend prefers bottled water and buys it regularly.

I still don't understand how you can pay more for WATER!! than GAS!!!

[Golden Bear]

I still don't understand how you can pay more for WATER!! than GAS!!!When they invent the car that runs on water, we're all screwed.

[rbaker]

10 cents for 500 ML- I think water is the better deal, or is my math bad.

I drink both!

[Merlot]

Sometimes tap water doesn't taste very good. Think it depends on the weather conditions and if mor echlorine or whatever they use to treat the water in needed. Sometimes it smells too.

I like Dasani. Purified tap water I believe.

[ProV1Kenobi]

i drink filtered tap water, filter it just for the taste through the fridge.. that and i like it really cold...

[Big Shooter]

I don't like the taste of any water, tastes like what was in my mouth BEFORE I drank the water! :rofl::cookoo: