I lived in rural Michigan for 23 years of my life. We lived on an old ranch that had well water, which was sulfurous and hard. Filtering the water where I grew up didn't make it anymore drinkable, and buying filtered bottled water was the only way to get clean, drinkable water. Because of this, we only drank bottled water, and up until last year I was too put off by tap water to drink it.

I understand that not everyone's situation is the same, but I wonder what the producers of this video would suggest as a solution to rural areas.

Obviously, water that is not safe to drink is an exception. In these cases they can drink water bottled in rural areas with better tasting water, such as the Ice Mountain water bottled by Nestle in Mecosta (i.e. rural), Michigan.

This is something that is definitely cultural in perspective. A cousin of mine who lives in NY City bought bottled water and never used tap water (except for washing dishes, laundry, and bathing) because she thought that the Hudson River IN NYC was where her water was coming from (as opposed to the upstream Hudson River - one of the cleanest non-treated water sources in the US).

Similarly, I had a Taiwanese labmate who would boil the tap water before drinking it. Having lived in Taiwan, I know that this is important there, but also know that is not a concern here in Ann Arbor. However, the idea of drinking water straight from the tap was so completely foreign to her that, even after we pointed her to water quality statistics presented by the city, she would still boil water before drinking it for two years after we learned about her practice. (For someone trying to be more green, we always found it somewhat odd that she would expend electricity to do something that would effectively do nothing.)

Related:

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/03/ocean-bpa/

The net effect of a "clean water" campaign has been the poisoning of our sea-based food chain.

This is one of those cases where I really feel the effects of the way advertising campaigns can condition people. I know all the facts about tap vs. bottled water (and have for a long time), but I still get an involuntary, "Ew, gross" reaction when I see water dripping out of the tap. I don't buy bottled water (I have a Brita pitcher instead), but, if I were stuck somewhere where I had to make a quick choice between tap and bottled water, I might still grab the bottle. It's that ingrained.

My university has had several campaigns to stop the sale of bottled water on campus, but it's not going anywhere until the school stops making so much money on it. Plus, a lot of students respond with, "But then what will we drink?" and say that they'll go buy it elsewhere anyway. I'm glad the issue is finally becoming more known; it's pretty absurd.

"It’s a little over-the-top at the beginning..."

Really? How so?

There's a town in Australia who banned bottled water last year.

When I first came to the U.S., I lived in West Texas and the water from the tap really tasted horrible. I tried boiling it and that didn't work. So, I and most of my friends got the plastic water gallons from the stores and would then keep refilling them for a quarter each until they would break at which point I would trash them (until I discovered that the town I lived in had a recycling center). When I moved to Central Texas, the water wasn't that bad, but I discovered that it tasted better when refrigerated for a while.

But, I can definitely see how drinking bottled water is cultural. My American roommate in college would always buy cases of bottled water instead of using the refillable gallons (I am not sure why. I guess she thought bottled water was more convenient because that's what the ads would have her believe). Even now when I live in NY with some of the best tasting tap water, I see people carrying bottled water.

What's interesting is that now companies have started marketing "enhanced water" such as Smart Water and Vitamin Water trying to convince consumers that somehow bottled water is better and "healthier."

Where I live in Australia the tap water is excellent. We also have tanks and collect rain water, which is also quite drinkable (and actually appears clearer than the tap water, although ever since an incident where a mouse got caught in the filter, I haven't been too confident of the tank water..) If I buy bottled water, it's only because I've gone out somewhere and forgotten to grab a bottle of tap water from home. Unfortunately this happens all too frequently. It would be great if, instead of selling bottled water at cafes and things, that they would just sell drink bottles and provide you with a place to 'fill up'. We had water-bottle filling stations back when I was at school and they were really handy. There have been times when I've refilled my water from toilet blocks (using water at the basins, not from the toilet bowls :P) but usually the looks of disgust that are directed at me (as if the water in a toilet block is somehow contaminated???) are enough to make me refrain.

So there's situational tap water as well. Water from a kitchen is acceptable. Water from a garden hose not quite so much and water from a laundry or toilet block are apparently off-limits.

When will people realise that water is water?! No matter where it comes from in your house, it got there the same way.

I don't know when this started, but here in Germany it's very common to drink mineral water (the fizzy kind) either pure or mixed with juice. Most people buy it in sixpacks of 1.5 liter bottles, some have soda makers to carbonate tap water. You'd also want to return the bottles for recycling because you pay a 0.15€ deposit for every bottle. I don't know how/if the bottles are actually recycled.
I don't know anybody who's grossed out by tap water, it's probably tasty enough throughout the country, but I've only stopped buying bottled water because I'm to lazy to schlepp it home from the shop and also cheap (No environmental concerns, but now I can feel good about myself ;). Bottled water still seems like the "better" water and I'd rather buy a bottle when I'm out than drink from a public tap.

I hate the taste of tap water (in many places; not the well water back home) so lately I make it into herbal tea instead. Not as cheap, because tea is more than $5 a box, but still cheaper than other drinks. Most bottled water tastes like bottle-plastic anyway.

NY now has a 5 cent return on water bottles, which is helping a lot with recycling. And I think ME and CA also have it?

I like to drink from water bottles because I like to use the little flavor packets with them.. But I almost always re-use the bottles and always recycle them afterwards, so I don't feel too bad. Yep, for me it's definitely the little flavor packets from Crystal Light. Before that, I never drank bottled water.

Also, very amused that they talked a little about Fiji Water in the ad, because my environmental science teacher in College HATED it. He would go on long long rants against it. About how they market it as so pure and charge so much but it's not really any better.

Sociological Images referring to anything else as "over the top" is a bit of the pot calling the kettle black.

Or does the use of that metaphor demonstrate my insensitivity to matters racial and tea-related?

I too live on a farm with nasty tasting well water.

So I use ersatz-tap water from a water cooler - rotating 2 refillable 18l bottles.

When I go out, I fill my refillable water bottle.

There is a middle point between tap and 500ml plastic bottles. Having bad well water in no way means one has to rely on 500ml plastic water bottles.

I love bottled water. Despite what this video says, bottled water usually tastes better than tap water. That's one of the main reasons people buy it. Pepsi and Coke did a lot of testing to make sure their bottled water tastes good.

Another reason people buy it is that is bottled water is far more likely to have less chemicals and contaminants in it. Most tap water is medicated with a fluoride chemical. The fluoride chemicals have contaminants and are not regulated by the EPA or any other government body. In the 1980' the EPA passed of regulatory authority of fluoride chemicals to a secretive foundation where the manufacturers make their own rules and supposedly regulate themselves. The fluoridation chemicals are recycled pollutants, and are hazardous waste if you don't have a use for them.

Bottled water typically does not have chlorine, chloramine, or their byproducts. Some public health officials are so afraid of chlorine byproducts in tap water that they are forcing cities all over the nation to switch to chloramine - which is chlorine plus added amonia. There are a lot of problems with chloramine and some people are suffering because of it.

The idea of banning bottled water is really unfair. I notice the video is not asking for a ban on soda pop. So it's OK to have water with sugar and chemicals in it in a bottle, but it's not OK to have water without sugar or chemicals in a bottle. These bans make people more likely to drink soda pop, as bottled water becomes less available. That's a wonderful goal, isnt' it?

Take back the tap? Why? It's not our tap. Voters and the public have no control of our tap water - only government does. They will add to tap water whatever chemicals they want. It's their tap. It was not like this in the past.

Yes, bottled water does create a lot of plastic waste. That is a good point. But if our tap water was cleaner and safer that would encourage tap water consumption. But the opposite is happening now. More communities are being forced to add fluoride and amonia to their tap water all the time. I'd rather drink water that is not medicated.

I work in Hollywood on movies. This "ban bottled water" cause has not caught on in this town - even with all the stars and their environmental concerns. Bottled water is served on movie sets, and not tap water. Banning bottled water on movie sets would likely cause complaints. About 10 years ago when fluoride started to be added even the employees at the department of water and power were paying to have bottled water delivered to the headquarters building. I guess our tap water does not taste that good or water department employees were concerned about chemicals in tap water.

Why did you leave out the fact that tap water contains the toxic chemical fluoride that our government adds to lower the peoples IQ along with many other ill effects on the human body?....dont believe me? Do some research.

At this point, When I buy Smart water when I am on the go during the day, I keep the bottles and keep them in the Fridge. Cold water at Home from the tap and the bottles still look cool. I'm paying for the bottle anyway right? Oh, and I love the bottles. Also like the Voss one's as well.

Interesting debate you guys!

Oh I cringed so hard seeing the pregnant stick figure smoking.

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