
Consumers are switching to water as they avoid sugary beverages - randomname2
http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2016/09/06/water-water-everywhere-except-the-bottom-line/
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hannob
Good news. Now they should switch to tap water and it'll also be a win for the
environment.

(To anticipate answers: Yes, I know, in the US water often contains large
amounts of chlorine and doesn't taste that good. And in poorer countries tap
water is often undrinkable. But there's no good reason to buy bottled water if
your water supply is reasonable, which is true for large parts of europe at
least.)

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usaphp
I recently moved to San Diego from New York, the tap water here is unbearable
to drink, it tasted horrible, like you are drinking mold, filters don't help
that much, still tastes horrible. I won't drink that, never mind giving it to
my kids

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segmondy
This is really and truly sad that USA can't provide drinkable water.

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Naritai
"Drinkable" and "Tastes like the water tasted where I grew up" are very
different things. There is not one flavor of water any more than there is one
shade of white. There's no evidence that the water OP refers to is actually
not drinkable.

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usaphp
To be exact - It smells like water from a swamp. Hard to satisfy your thirst
by drinking that nasty smell

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webkike
If your water is literally smelly than it is either something wrong with your
pipes or psychosomatic. I can't imagine that the entire city of San Diego is
distributing water that has an odor. I have never had this problem in San
Diego. I would suggest calling the city if this is truly a problem.

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NegativeK
Smell is not an indication of danger.

Municipal water in Florida often has the smell of sulfur, due to the presence
of sulfur -- and if I'm remembering correctly, a relative who works at the
state equivalent of the EPA told me that it's common in coastal areas due to
byproducts of bacteria in the water table. But it's completely harmless.

I can only speak for Florida, though.

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pattisapu
I like drinking tap water back home in Orlando. The smell/taste is different
but, well, it reminds me of home.

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joezydeco
Low margin? My wife switched to La Croix which seems to be the new popular
water drink around here. It's easily 3x the price of Coke.

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semi-extrinsic
Apart from signalling that you have too much money and don't give a crap about
the environment, why would anyone drinking just water buy bottled water every
day instead of a Camelbak or Nalgene or Bobble bottle once a decade, and then
drink tap water? Or even a Bkr if you're very fashion conscious? Is US water
quality really that bad?

Edit: and if you _need_ sparkling water, why not get a Sodastream or
equivalent?

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nilkn
La Croix is sparkling water with very subtle natural flavoring.

As for Sodastream, I've seen lots of folks say that they did the math and
found that it wasn't any cheaper in the long run -- or was just barely so --
once you take the cost of the CO2 into account. There are still environmental
reasons to get a Sodastream, of course. But if it's not any cheaper and
requires learning to use a new contraption and making sure you don't run out
of CO2, I think it's easy to see why many people just continue to buy the
cans. Plus a Sodastream is a much larger up-front investment, and what if you
end up not even liking the flavors?

For what it's worth, La Croix is roughly the same price as name-brand soda
like Coke where I live.

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cozzyd
It's much more convenient though. Hauling liquids isn't fun, even though I
live just a block from a grocery store.

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AdmiralAsshat
The soda companies will be just fine. They've been preparing for this for
decades. Who do you think _owns_ the bottled water companies?

Hint: Dasani is owned by the Coca-Cola Company. Aquafina is owned by PepsiCo.
They're only at risk if people inexplicably stop drinking regular bottled
water and subsist solely upon San Pellegrino or other sparkling varieties.

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yazaddaruvala
FWIW: The article did address this. It claims that bottled water sales are low
margin. Therefore, not equivalent to soda sales.

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bluedino
Restaurants have to be mad about this.

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evan_
Most nicer restaurants will offer you bottled water if you ask for water.
Sometimes they won't even offer tap and you have to specifically request it,
and the waiter will roll their eyes at you. (I've only seen that once, but
still)

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bluedino
It would have to be a pretty fancy place in the US to offer fancy water, that
they charge for by the bottle. But most of your places will give you water for
free, and the waiter will roll his/her eyes because at $2.50 a person, a table
of four that only gets water just knocked $10 off their bill and 2-3 dollars
off the tip.

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neaanopri
I fail to see the problem with this.

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webkike
I don't think the article is implying there is one for anyone but soda makers.

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makecheck
Water itself is a good trend. The bottle, not so much.

For me anyway, if I drink _from_ the bottle then I feel odd afterwards — as if
I got a dose of something I shouldn’t have. Fortunately, pouring the water
into a glass solves the problem.

I try to avoid bottled water anyway. Part of it is the principle of the thing:
I used to get water for free when I was 12 and these days it averages $3 or
$4? To hell with those companies, they know it’s a ridiculous scam and people
just pay it.

I would say most of the time I drink filtered water from my fridge,
occasionally from the tap and rarely from water bottles. If I do have bottled
water, it is only after searching in vain for a simple drinking fountain.

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arzt
How is water lower margin than a sugar drink that has ingredients and is
partly water? At my corner bodega they charge $2 for a 20oz Dasani (which is
the same price as a comparably sized gatorade).

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mtgx
FYI, Coke's Dasani, and PepsiCo's AquaFina are _both_ just tap water.

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maxerickson
They both use reverse osmosis to filter the water, they could be locally
bottled and end up tasting quite different than the tap water.

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intralizee
I have a water distiller which I fill up with tap water and it takes 6 hours
to produce a gallon by evaporating the water that then goes through a filter.

Cost me around $200 and I get to see the remaining contents from the tap water
at the bottom of the distiller. I believe it uses 20 cents of energy to
produce a gallon. It's cheaper than bottled water and more environmentally
friendly (no plastic).

Some will say, I miss out on minerals from the water but I believe that my
diet covers them.

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WalterBright
The trouble with bottled water is that the minerals are often filtered out.
Water is the only way we get certain needed minerals.

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gumby
BTW your kids should be drinking tap water unless you fluoridate their teeth
some other way. Or, I suppose, unless you think fluoridating teeth is a bad
idea...

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maxxxxx
Good for the producers. Fancy bottled water is much more expensive than Soda
so they can make more money on a product that's easier to produce.

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bordercases
Even if water ends up being turned into a market good, what with bottling;
does this affect the water service as a public good at all?

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internaut
Tip for the frugal: if you go to catering wholesalers you can pick up bottled
water still or sparkling for 0.10c - 0.20c each.

It's a good way to reduce a waistline.

