HTL Forum

I think for a lot of people the use of bottled water is for convenience. It is just easier to grab a bottle of water at the gas station while you are out than to bring one with. I know my mother in law recycles her bottles in house by using them again and again for tap water refills and putting them in the fridge.

I won't pay for bottled water, if I need to stop somewhere to get a drink, I buy a $1 can of arizona ice tea or grab a gatorade or something.  I'm not going to pay the same price for something that even 15 years ago was considered absolutely free.  If you went into a restaurant and asked for a water no matter where it was, the most you ever heard was five to ten cents to pay for the cup, now it's on par with the other beverages for sale.  To me that is utterly absurd and I could probably count on two hands the total bottles of water I've ever bought.  I get quite a laugh at all the specialty waters that sell at a premium as well.  I think it was when Evian came out and someone pointed out that it was Naive backwards that I shut the door on bottled water.

There was also a study a bit ago that showed how the plastics break down into the water making it actually worse in quality and increases in toxicity.  Water stored in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles will actually increase their levels of antimony, which can start off as trace amounts below official regulations, but can double after only 3 months of storage.  Antimony in small doses can cause a feeling of illness or depression, and in larger doses can cause violent vomiting or even death.  One of the studies showed that the ground water contained 2 ppt (parts per trillion) of antimony, while water tested immediately after bottling had 160 ppt, and after 6 months of storage that number shot up to 630 ppt.  This process can also speed up with heat, so leaving bottles in the trunk of your car can break it down quicker.  Granted, even at these levels they are still considered "safe" for consumption, but I think I'd rather just strap a filter to my faucet and take a drink.  And I'd check what your emergency storage of water is bottled in and how long it's been sitting. 

In the event of the zombie apocalypse, I'll just light a fire and boil a pot or build a filter out of layers of charcoal, sand and cloth for long term.  (Plus if you get jumped, you have a red hot pan to hit a zombie with, win/win)

I get bottled water for hurricane season but that is about it.  We recycle any bottles we do use. 

I work for several municipalities in the Houston area and I can speak for the level of regulation on tap water.  The water delivered to our customers regularly tested and there is a high level of oversight from the state environmental agency.  Traditionally water in the Houston area was pumped from wells.  Well water is typically pretty clean straight out of the ground with minimal taste and odor issues.  It was discovered a while back the City was pumping too much water from the wells causing areas in the city to actually sink so there is a regional effort to convert from well water to surface water (lake water).  Lake water isn't nearly as clean and required different treatment and some people complain about the taste.  Typically if the water system is being properly operated few people notice the difference. 

I stick with tap water most of the time.  I know it's clean.  It tastes fine.  An it is dirt cheap.

Our town's tap water is fine. We keep a plastic jug of it in the fridge at all times. Some years ago I worked in a factory and they had a water cooler with Labrador bottled water. After drinking it for a few months I began getting kidney stones. I figured out the mineral content in that water was the culprit and once I quit drinking it the kidney stone problem disappeared.
I haven't had an attack since.