Stop Buying Bottled Water

srslybritt

In Asia we have "tanks" at home where you store water since the government releases water periodically. A friend of mine found out his tank had a dead cat in it and had been there for about a week at least.

No thanks. I even cook my food with bottled water. And I am being 100% serious.

OMG ... NASTY!!!! I wouldn't even want to bathe in that water. How on earth did it get in there ?

Actually, water is stored in huge above-ground water tanks here in the US. It's not uncommon to find a dead bird or two floating on the water stored in the tanks (oh the joys of getting an engineering degree to learn all these fun facts). One thing to remember is that most municipalities chlorinate their water to kill off microbes and the chlorine effect generally sustains throughout the water distribution system all the way to your tap. Water municipalities are required to produce water that is both potable and palatable; however, the palatable part is sometimes subjective as noted by some people here who have horrible tasting ( and smelling) water. Additionally, water sources can be exposed to surface or subsurface contamination such as cryptosporidium, cyanobacteria, ghiardia, and poly-aromatic hydrocarbons to say the least. Don't forget the big stink about fluoride added to the water (in concentrations of less than 4.0 mg/L mind you) which some people object to. There is also the idea of endocrine disrupters in the water sources that come from excreted birth control pills, blood pressure medication and anti-depression meds that make it's way from waterwater treatment system outfalls back into the surface and subsurface drinking water sources (yes people - we ultimately drink the water than we flush down the toilet). We could even discuss the thought of carcinogenic trihalomethanes produced when the humic material in surface water comes into contact with chlorine. Still, I will drink water from the tap. Sincerely, Debbie Downer

You win the internet.

QueenBishOTUniverse

In Asia we have "tanks" at home where you store water since the government releases water periodically. A friend of mine found out his tank had a dead cat in it and had been there for about a week at least.

No thanks. I even cook my food with bottled water. And I am being 100% serious.

OMG ... NASTY!!!! I wouldn't even want to bathe in that water. How on earth did it get in there ?

Actually, water is stored in huge above-ground water tanks here in the US. It's not uncommon to find a dead bird or two floating on the water stored in the tanks (oh the joys of getting an engineering degree to learn all these fun facts). One thing to remember is that most municipalities chlorinate their water to kill off microbes and the chlorine effect generally sustains throughout the water distribution system all the way to your tap. Water municipalities are required to produce water that is both potable and palatable; however, the palatable part is sometimes subjective as noted by some people here who have horrible tasting ( and smelling) water. Additionally, water sources can be exposed to surface or subsurface contamination such as cryptosporidium, cyanobacteria, ghiardia, and poly-aromatic hydrocarbons to say the least. Don't forget the big stink about fluoride added to the water (in concentrations of less than 4.0 mg/L mind you) which some people object to. There is also the idea of endocrine disrupters in the water sources that come from excreted birth control pills, blood pressure medication and anti-depression meds that make it's way from waterwater treatment system outfalls back into the surface and subsurface drinking water sources (yes people - we ultimately drink the water than we flush down the toilet). We could even discuss the thought of carcinogenic trihalomethanes produced when the humic material in surface water comes into contact with chlorine. Still, I will drink water from the tap. Sincerely, Debbie Downer

You win the internet.

There are some interesting studies coming out on the effect of all of those pills on the behaviors of fish in various waterways.

Yoshirio

No.

Sharon_C

In the city where I grew up the water was so yummy. I loved drinking it. Then we moved and the water here is nasty, nasty, nasty. So I'm one of those lazy Americans who is drinking her bottled water while watching the world burn :drinker:

PlanetVelma

Since we're talking about water.....

http://www.waterworld.com/articles/print/volume-29/issue-9/editorial-features/battling-water-scarcity.html

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/toilet-to-tap-wastewater-recycling-begins-in-wichita-falls-texas/

Now before you start giving Dasani all of your money so you can have "clean" water - the reuse water goes through several processes before it gets distributed out to customers.

Think about it - without this technology - all of those folks in Wichita falls would be forced to leave. No water = no life