Step away from the bottle: Take back the tap
I have never been a fan of bottle water. It's not because I don't like water. I love water. I just don't love the idea of paying a buck and a quarter or almost two bucks for what I can get out of my sink.
It just seems wasteful. Also, every time I do find myself buying a bottle of water, I feel like some evil genius is giggling it up somewhere because he found a way to sell tap water to the masses and he's making a mint off of conning us.
The thing is, if you go to a nice restaurant and the server asks you if you want tap, bottled water or sparkling water and you answer, "tap," they look at you as if you just stepped in something brown and stinky. Sheesh. It's not like I asked you to dip my glass in the toilet.
Who knew that my cheapness would eventually be a good thing? Now there's a whole movement to drink tap water, college students are marching for World Water Day and restaurants are encouraging diners to sip on le tap to save money and the environment:
San Francisco, CA - Food & Water Watch kicked off its Take Back the Tap restaurant campaign in San Francisco today, joining forces with the city government to eliminate bottled water in city restaurants. The consumer advocacy group is working with cities across the nation to urge local restaurants and chefs to sign a pledge to switch to serving only municipal tap water, help educate customers about the benefits of tap over bottled water, and whenever possible, install a carbonation machine to make sparkling water from the tap.
"Bottled water is an expensive con job on consumers. Cities like San Francisco are leading the way in kicking the bottled water habit and in raising awareness that tap water is the healthiest and most cost-effective choice for consumers," stated Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch. “All Americans should have access to safe, affordable tap water. To make that a reality, we need Congress to create a dedicated source of funding for water infrastructure."
Food & Water Watch recently launched a new website at www.takebackthetap.org that provides restaurants and individuals with useful materials such as petitions, how-to guides, educational fliers, and other resources to aid restaurateurs and restaurant-goers in removing bottled water from local menus. The group’s Take Back the Tap report details why choosing tap water is better for consumers’ health, their pocketbooks, and the environment.
I figure the only time I didn't mind buying bottled water was when I went to visit Vietnam in 1995. Everywhere we went, they told us not to drink the water since it could make us sick. As much as I enjoyed visiting my birth country, it definitely made me more grateful for our fair city's water system when I got home.
Seriously, can anyone taste any difference at all between tap water and bottled water?
(AP Photo)
Comments
I drink tap water for the same reason - I'm cheap. I do buy bottled water when I'm out, but then I fill up the bottles again wih tap water at home.
Soda fountains at fast-food joints and gas stations usually have a little button for plain water, which is another way I fill them up and save money.
Posted by: Marc Nelson Jr. | March 24, 2008 11:24 AM
We're very fortunate here in B-more to have some of the highest quality tap water in the U.S. I've never been able to detect any difference in taste except for a faint chlorine aroma which can be easily eliminated with a home filtration unit. There's also the addition of flouride in tap water, which I consider a benefit, though other folks might disagree. We also had our tap water tested a few years ago (in Balt City - old water mains) and were pleased to find it free of any polluntants/chemicals of concern.
I remember when bottled water started becoming popular in the 1980s and wondered why locals would buy something they essentially get for free out of their faucets. Brands like Evian were all the rage and smart marketing promoted them as an important part of a healthy lifestyle. They didn't seem to mention that tap water contained the same health benefits, just that bottled water was somehow better for you.
It's great see good ol' tap water making a comeback. Let's drink to that!
Posted by: bob | March 24, 2008 12:44 PM
I used to live in the Annapolis Roads section of Annapolis, and the water there didn't taste very good at all. So I would buy those 2.5 gallon bottles and put it in the fridge.
Before that, I lived in Baltimore and that water was fine to drink.
I live in the FL panhandle now and the water here is great! Matter of fact, there are several companies in my county using our natural springs to bottle water. Nestle is one, I believe.
DD: Hey Rob, I visit the "Redneck Riviera" often and do enjoy it down there. I agree with you about the water. It's good.
Posted by: Rob in the Redneck Riviera | March 24, 2008 1:07 PM
I'm happy to hear that situation in Baltimore is different, but where we live in Glen Burnie there is way too much chlorine in the water. Yesterday I could even taste it in pasta that I cooked for dinner. We have to buy 1-2 gallons of spring water per week because the filters would actually be more expensive for our household of 2.
In Minnesota there was a filtered water refill available in almost every supermarket for about 35 cents per gallon. I wish we had the same thing in Maryland.
DD: Anyone have a more inexpensive suggestion for Jelena? I can definitely see why you have to buy bottled water if your tap is bad (for instance, lead in your pipes). I think we're mostly just talking about people who think bottled water is automatically safer and better than tap.
Posted by: Jelena | March 24, 2008 2:18 PM
Jelena, you might want to try filling up an open-top container with tap water and let it sit for a couple of hours. The chlorine aroma should dissipate over this time since the water is being naturally aerated. Afterwards, just pour the water into a closed container until you're ready to use. It's an old homebrewing technique that seems to be pretty effective (but kind of a pain..)
It still might be easier for you to simply buy bottled water but it definitely doesn't hurt to try this technique since it costs nothing. Hope this helps.
DD: Great idea. Thanks, Bob!
Posted by: bob | March 24, 2008 4:49 PM
I used to drink bottled water when I was in high school in Texas, because our water had a lot of lime (from the aquifer) and I didn't enjoy drinking sediment. But then I once looked at a bottle I'd bought and the source was the Houston municipal water supply. I almost never buy water in a bottle now. Also because producing those dumb bottles takes so much energy. But we are definitely lucky that we have tasty water here. I also liked the tap water in north Florida. And Rhode Island has delicious tap water too! I have been places though where the water smells funny or tastes gross. So maybe I'd have to get a Brita, at the very least, if I lived somewhere like that, or reconsider my bottle ban.
Posted by: aeb | March 25, 2008 6:49 PM
Marc, you might want to think twice about reusing those bottled-water bottles, because they can't be thoroughly cleaned and bacteria can grow inside. Getting a washable water bottle might be a better option.
Posted by: Liz Kay | March 25, 2008 7:44 PM