
How Drinking Bottled Water Became a Thing - joeteplow
http://blog.socialrank.com/2014/11/11/how-drinking-bottled-water-became-a-thing/?v=1
======
mortenjorck
I know expecting rigorous science from an entertainment program is always
asking a bit much, but the Penn & Teller gourmet-water prank always struck me
as flawed given the social dynamics at play. Most people in that situation are
going to feel some social pressure to acknowledge some sort of qualities in
what they are being served, whether from fear of appearing unsophisticated or
simply out of a desire to be polite, even if what they're drinking does
consciously taste like tap water to them.

Personally, while I don't buy any branded, single-serve waters, I do actually
buy gallon jugs of house-brand "drinking water" from my local grocery store
for the taste. Whatever minerals they add "for taste," I prefer it to tap or
even spring water.

~~~
breischl
It's been pretty well documented that presentation affects the perception of
taste. Adding some fancy adjectives (and possibly a fancy price) to the menu
can make people perceive the food as tasting better. I believe it's been shown
to work with wine too. So it's not surprising that the same thing can happen
with water.

~~~
yzzxy
Also, wine is barely better than water in terms of taste perception. Even wine
"experts" can't differentiate wine in a blind test - they've been known to
confuse red and white wine, give wildly inconsistent ratings to a single wine
over multiple tests, and correlate high ratings with high price - even if the
"expensive" wine is really a cheap on with a fake fancy label and price tag.

------
softdev12
I used to drink bottled water exclusively, mainly because I thought the taste
was unambiguously better. However, three things got me to switch to using
filtered tap water.

#1) having to carry multiple gallons from the store to the car to the house
was getting to be a chore. given the amount of water of i drank, it was a
headache. now that i've switched to filtered tap water, it's so much easier.

#2) i received a brochure from the local water municipality that documented
all the steps that the water went through to be purified. It was way more
involved than I thought. Plus, the purchased filter literature claims to
remove impurities to several significant digits - post coming from the tap.

#3) it's cheaper overall. sure there's a fixed cost to buying a filter system,
but once it's up and running, it pays for itself.

~~~
brixon
Same here. Also, when at a restaurant squeeze a lemon (or lime) wedge into
your water to help handle odd tastes.

I would avoid dropping the wedge into the water since you have no idea if the
rind is clean.

~~~
DanBC
> I would avoid dropping the wedge into the water since you have no idea if
> the rind is clean.

Why are you eating there if you can't trust them to provide clean food?

~~~
mschuster91
Former barkeeper here: usually the limes and lemons are bought as-is-
available, which usually means mass-produced stuff laced with pesticides.
Organic fruits are, due to their higher price, normally only available in
hipster places.

The rind is not considered edible in any way, and the pesticides don't migrate
through the rind. Which is, btw, a good reason to rinse any fruit or vegetable
(prior to USE, not directly after you get home from shopping!!!) and also wash
your hands afterwards so you don't ingest the toxins via your skin.

~~~
JoeAltmaier
Never mind pesticides; rinds are great places for bacteria to grow. Peel all
fruits and vegetables.

------
serve_yay
If places sold an empty bottle for 5c or whatever that you had to fill up by
yourself at a tap, then that's what I would buy.

Sometimes you're out and you want something to drink but you don't have a
container, bottled water is kind of an obvious choice. All the purity shit is
just capitalist competition in action. And I still don't understand what is
worse about it than bottled Coke or whatever.

~~~
smacktoward
But who would buy it?

Contra the article, I would argue that there's three reasons bottled water
became popular:

1) Convenience: no need to tote an empty container around with you, or find
one when you're thirsty

2) Status signaling: a.k.a. "tap water is what the proles drink"

3) Collapse of faith in the efficacy of collective action: the rise of Perrier
was driven by sales in the US & UK, and occurred during the late '70s and
early '80s, the same time as the rise of Reagan and Thatcher and the beginning
of the era we live in now. Guarantees of the purity of tap water rested on the
authority of government, which people had stopped believing in. The purity of
bottled water rested on the authority of the Free Market™, which was more in
fashion.

Empty bottle plus tap would be much better for the environment, and probably
cost people less over time than bottled water does, but it fails in comparison
on all three of those points. And since history shows these are the points
people care about, the prospects of the concept don't seem bright; at least
not without another major shift in society.

~~~
maxerickson
Point 3 is confusing to me. In the U.S., government regulation of water
quality got a lot stronger in the 1970s:

[http://www2.epa.gov/laws-regulations/history-clean-water-
act](http://www2.epa.gov/laws-regulations/history-clean-water-act)

[http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/rulesregs/sdwa/index.cfm](http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/rulesregs/sdwa/index.cfm)

Between that, advances in technology and the wider deployment of municipal
water supplies, U.S. tap water is probably as clean and safe as it has ever
been, at least since the beginning of the industrial era.

~~~
smacktoward
I'm referring to public perception, not facts.

The environmental wave that was symbolized by the first Earth Day resulted in
lots of environmental policy improvements in the US by the end of the '70s.
But by the time those policy improvements happened, public sentiment had
turned away from collective action towards private, market-based action.

Remember, laws lag public opinion, they don't lead it. So the laws that pass
today are responses to public opinion as it stood at some point in the past.

------
VLM
No commentary about entertainment venues removing/hiding the water fountains
and making carry ins (like my refillable bottle) illegal for security theater
reasons?

I'm not saying that explains 35 gallons a year unless you go out a heck of a
lot more than I do, but it is something of a gateway drug, that once you get
used to going to the state fair and spending $7 for a brat and ... $2 for the
bottled water to go with it, you're on a slippery slope to buying more bottled
water later. Look how cheap the bottles are at the store, why I paid $2 for
one bottle at the fair, and I can get a dozen bottles at the food store for $3
what an awesome great deal bottled water is I'm gonna buy some for next time I
go out...

~~~
rconti
It's getting better. SFO, for one, has long-neck water dispensers for filling
your own bottle. I've found other airports often have something similar. Of
course, you need to think ahead to actually BRING your empty bottle (or dump
the water before security), because my first thought when packing is "oh, I
can't take my Nalgene because they won't let the water through security". It
takes an extra step to say "oh, wait, I can take it through EMPTY".

Of course, it also seems silly to pack a large empty container.

I'm more likely to use a disposable bottle if I'm going to an event, or I'm
walking around a city all day as a tourist, and want to be able to ditch the
bottle rather than carrying it around empty.

That said, I virtually never buy water, I dislike it on principle and only do
so in special circumstances.

------
pessimizer
Every reason mentioned except the main one - that you can't charge $4 for a
cup w/tap water in it? Also when fast food/day-to-day restaurants give you a
cup for water, it's tiny and uncovered.

I would prefer tap water in all cases. It is never a convenient choice.

edit: If you wanted to legislate effectively (rather than in a Bloombergian
manner), just require that tap water be a first class citizen at restaurants
(same cups, same sizes), and that the purchase of soda/bottled water cannot be
involved in a package discount, unless tap water would give you the same
discount.

------
deepvibrations
Since last year, I have tried my best to avoid any drink that comes in a
plastic bottle and as well as saving me a decent amount of money, I feel much
better about not adding to the obscene amount of waste and the fact that when
i do have a drink out, I am helping independents too rather than fueling the
corporate monster..!

~~~
Ataub24
Bottled water is so expensive. Really adds up quickly. Never order it at
restaurants. Tap water please.

~~~
zzleeper
I buy 36 bottles of water from Kroger at around $3.50 (plus 7% taxes). Taking
one with me on my bike every weekday means they last around two months, at
less than $2 per mo.

(Yes, I know it's better for the environment to save plastic. Kroger bottles
are not as bad as others, as they feel as thin as a plastic bag, but still I
plan to eventually phase them out, but not because of the $)

~~~
thesteamboat
Have you considered taking a sports water bottle or nalgene or some reusable
bottle?

~~~
zzleeper
Yes, but they feel way too heavy/big, and then I have to wash them regularly
which is kinda hard to do with a bottle. I know that would be the best long
term thing to do though..

------
batbomb
There's a big difference between bottled sparkling water, filtered water, and
plain old tap water.

Also, there's differing qualities of tap water as well, because it does depend
on your tap and sink itself.

If you have a good tap, and you are serving the water without carbonation,
sure, there's going to be little noticeable difference in general. But try
running water directly from an average to low quality tap directly into a soda
stream (without any time to even allow chlorine dissipate) and you'll find
that's nowhere near as pleasant as a bottle of perrier.

------
givan
The downside of bottled water is BPA from the plastic container that is
released when exposed to sunlight/heat but the downside of tap water is that
you can't control the level of nitrites, PH levels, chlorine and debris from
building pipes.

~~~
ambler0
But you _can_ get a lot of that out of your tap water with a filter, which in
my opinion makes tap water the healthier choice.

------
wil421
Evian is the only non flavored water that I have tasted that actually has a
different taste to it.

Either way I dont drink bottled water because I dislike tap water. Most of the
times I dont have a container or a tap to fill up with water. So I am stuck
getting a Dasani or Evian from a gas station or vending machine at work.

~~~
stronglikedan
Fiji is unique, because it's softened more so than others. In my opinion, it's
delicious. While I normally don't buy battled water, if I must, it's Fiji, if
available.

~~~
yzzxy
Well, perhaps some sunlight will change your habits:

[http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2009/09/fiji-spin-
bottle](http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2009/09/fiji-spin-bottle)

------
steven2012
The reason why I finally switched to only drinking bottled spring water is
because of things like hexavalent chromium, which appears to be very prevalent
in the Bay Area for some reason. The Bay Area has an amount which is hundreds
of times higher than the maximum recommended amount.

[http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2010/12/30/chromium-6-found-
in-...](http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2010/12/30/chromium-6-found-in-tap-water-
of-31-u-s-cities/)

I might explore a home filtration system at some point, though, if it is cost
effective and reliable.

------
clumsysmurf
This is why I drink bottled water.

"The documents reveal that the wastewater, which is sometimes hauled to sewage
plants not designed to treat it and then discharged into rivers that supply
drinking water, contains radioactivity at levels higher than previously known,
and far higher than the level that federal regulators say is safe for these
treatment plants to handle."

"...some sewage treatment plants were incapable of removing certain drilling
waste contaminants and were probably violating the law."

"radioactivity in drilling waste cannot be fully diluted in rivers and other
waterways."

And the EPA has not intervened.

from
[http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/27/us/27gas.html](http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/27/us/27gas.html)

Also:

"Environmental officials in Pennsylvania have failed to adequately regulate
the state’s booming natural gas industry, a state report said, reflecting what
critics say is weak oversight of the oil and gas industry at a time when
drilling is spreading across the United States."

[http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/24/us/pennsylvanias-
auditor-g...](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/24/us/pennsylvanias-auditor-
general-faults-oversight-of-natural-gas-industry.html)

------
applecore
It's a well-known fact that New York City tap water is delicious, even
compared to other municipal water supplies.

~~~
a_gentle_autist
It's why New York Pizza is so good, it's the minerals in the water.

~~~
zwieback
I'd never heard of that and it's remotely plausible but apparently debunked:

[http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/01/does-nyc-
water...](http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/01/does-nyc-water-make-a-
difference-in-pizza-quality.html)

------
snowwrestler
The crazy thing about Fiji water is that it is actually bottled in Fiji and
shipped around the world. So now even plain potable water can have a
significant carbon footprint.

~~~
erbo
All the more reason to buy locally-sourced bottled water. I have Eldorado
Natural Spring Water
([http://www.eldoradosprings.com/](http://www.eldoradosprings.com/))
delivered, which actually comes from a local natural artesian spring.

~~~
boyaka
This has been the convincing argument for me when it comes to bottled water. I
hesitate to argue this though because I know the scientific numbers, methods
for water quality measurement, and general advice from people like the penn
and teller episode completely disprove this argument, but here it is anyways:

I dislike the idea of drinking water that has been circulating through pipes
and filters in the city for decades, including through our toilets and showers
and huge amounts of chemical waste. Of course, the methods have completely
purified the water, but claims that tap water still isn't good are attributed
to the sort of last mile dirty pipe system, which is solved by more filtering.

I like the idea of nature filtering the water that I drink. That's why I like
the idea of water springs. I would be less interested in spring water that
still just comes from municipal water supplies that similarly recycles the
water, and would prefer it coming directly from a spring.

------
itchyouch
In the northeast in PA/NJ, tap water has had a distinct taste, presumably from
the high calcium content. My experience with tap water in Orlando, Florida
also had a very distinct odor to it. Thus bottled water it is.

For filtering, I just got one of the iSpring reverse osmosis units to filter
water for me. It tastes equivalent to the other bottled water brands while
being appreciably cheaper than bottled water.

------
kylec
The tap water in my apartment is disgusting. I tried filtering it, but it
still tastes terrible. It doesn't even do a good job of cleaning my dishes in
my dishwasher. I buy Poland Spring by the case, keep it in the refrigerator,
and drink that instead. I have nothing against drinking tap water in
principle, but my actual tap water leaves a lot to be desired.

~~~
ChuckMcM
Interesting, what filter did you use? For simple taste filtering I've used a
Brita pitcher with its built in filter, at home I installed a reverse osmosis
system that feeds into a silica (sand) filter and an activated charcoal
filter. The house one is a bit larger so that it can filter tap water and
water that goes to the ice maker in the freezer (the refrigerator has its own
filter which on top of the house filter gets replaced every 3 - 4 years).

The reason I've gone to some 'extremes' is that in earthquake country the
house filter can do double duty for making drinkable water out of pretty much
anything that might get into it after an earthquake.

My experience though has been that pretty much a basic charcoal filter like
the Brita gets rid of taste issues pretty effectively.

~~~
kylec
I tried an on-tap Brita filter. Maybe the pitcher would have worked better, I
did not try it.

------
ZenoArrow
I drink bottled water when I'm out and about, the main reason is that it's
frequently the most/only healthy option available. Fruit juices can be good
for you too, but they're high in sugar and not great for your teeth if you
drink them frequently.

------
microtherion
It all depends on __what __tap water you compare it with. In many places in
the US I’ve been, the tap water was heavily chlorinated, and that’s not
exactly a subtle taste note in the water.

~~~
debian3
Simply fill a jug of that heavily chlorinated water and put it in the fridge,
all the chlorine will evaporate after few hours. You will get free, cold and
good tasting water always available. No need for filter.

~~~
hcarvalhoalves
I don't know how it is in the US in particular, but in addition to Chlorine,
tap water usually contains Al, Cu traces, lacks Ca and Mg and is low on
bicarbonates.

So not only tap water already lacks compared to mineral, just letting it gas
out, although can help with taste, is not enough to ensure quality, a filter
is recommended. I don't know why you claim a filter is _not_ necessary, I've
never seen that.

------
splat
As a side note, "Agua de Culo," one of the brands offered during the Penn &
Teller experiment, translates as "Ass Water."

------
brandon_r
Love that last paragraph.

------
zwieback
Part of the bottled water craze is due to the fact that youngsters are
mistakenly made to believe that you will get dehydrated if you take a walk
around the block, do your math homework or just sit around. If you don't drink
x glasses of water (insert random number for x) your health will be at risk.

So, for those situations where you find yourself with your (BPA-free) water
bottle empty of course you're going to spring for a bottle of tap water. And
since you're afraid of catching Ebola you're not going to use anyone's tap, it
has to be a one-way safe and sanitized bottle.

