newyork water

I drove a Hudson once. I'd not want to drink water from it either!

We spendt billions of dollars over the decades to build a system that delivers clean, safe water, for pennies, directly to our homes. Then what do we do? We go out and start buying water at a rate that is hundreds of times greater.

I say we, but I really mean you, as in "you, the bottled-water buyer".

Kingmonkey - Where do the Brita users fall in this?

The water is safe Jules. Sometimes the pipes it comes through is old and less safe (yummy, yummy lead). That is where the Brita users come in. If someone is a habitual bottled water purchaserthey spend more in two weeks than if they purchase a Brita and a reusable bottle. Then again there are those who get it because it is a status symbol ("look at me, I drink Evian and I'm too stupid to realize that's naive spelled backwards). I loved the episode of Penn and Teller's Bull$41T that had people comparing different bottled waters that had all been filled from the same hose behind the restaurant. :lol:

One of the biggest criticisms about bottled water is not the outlandishly proced water but the disposable bottle. Just think of all the bottles in landfills.

I'm with you on that. I have 2 or 3 bottles that I re-use over and over for going to the gym and other such things. Until they've been around long enough I suspect stuff might start growing, then they go in the recyling bin.

In the US 2,000,000 plastic bottles are used EVERY 5 minutes! If you'd like to see what that looks like, take a gander at the work of artist Chris Jordan.
http://www.chrisjordan.com/current_set2.php?id=7
The plastic bottles are about the sixth item down, just below the amazing Barbie dolls.

StanFlouride - Thanks for that link. That's seriously eye opening.

I haven't had pure tap water to drink for years. I don't even brush my teeth with it. Why? My aunt came to visit about ten years ago and she showed me this nifty experiment you can try in your home. Get a regular glass, that you would drink water out of and fill it from your kitchen tap. Next, cover it with clear plastic wrap and secure the wrap with a rubber band. Then place the glass in the window (a window that receives a lot of sunlight is best). Come back in 24 hours. Check the water for floaties. Every time I've tried this, and I do it whenever I move somewhere new, the water usually has several things growing or floating around in it. The longer you leave the glass in the window, the more you'll find. And the less you'll want to drink tap water. :lol:

I have actually done it with bottled water, because I have too much free time, and you still get floaties, just takes longer than 24 hours. Generic brands such as the Wal-mart stuff are the worst. The best was Voss (from Norway), but that's ridiculously expensive. So do what I do - drink scotch. *hic*

So Nethie, as long as we don't get those new fangled bladder windows installed we can drink tap, right?

CanUKgirl, you're thinking of Walkerton, ON. That was an e. coli outbreak, or something like that, in the water supply.