Commercialization

[Nym90]

Agree is liberal, disagree is conservative.

[Aegir]

Agree, but I still buy the bottled stuff.

[ilikeverin]

Agree, but I still buy the bottled stuff.

[John Dibble]

Strongly disagree. In cities, there is one primary source of clean water - tap water. Problem is there is no garauntee to it's cleanliness, it has chemicals in it, and it tastes lousy. Since keeping water that clean is costly in large quantities, and water filters are not really portable, the only logical substitute is bottled water. Since people are willing to pay for a clean, no chemical, tasty water supply there is no reason that it shouldn't be a product.

[The Duke]

Disagree, I like bottled water and I'm willing to pay more for the quality.

[ilikeverin]

Strongly disagree. In cities, there is one primary source of clean water - tap water. Problem is there is no garauntee to it's cleanliness, it has chemicals in it, and it tastes lousy.

Unless you live in Detroit.  Detroit tap water is tasty.

And so is some school's water where they add fluoride.  It gives the water a vaguely sweet taste (this may sound gross, but actually it tastes quite good)... sometimes.  And some drinking fountains taste like nails

[Gabu]

Here in Victoria the tap water actually is pretty good.  One time I took a trip to Los Angeles, though, and was pretty much forced to buy bottled water since the tap water was so undrinkable.

[John Dibble]

Strongly disagree. In cities, there is one primary source of clean water - tap water. Problem is there is no garauntee to it's cleanliness, it has chemicals in it, and it tastes lousy.

Unless you live in Detroit.  Detroit tap water is tasty.

And so is some school's water where they add fluoride.  It gives the water a vaguely sweet taste (this may sound gross, but actually it tastes quite good)... sometimes.  And some drinking fountains taste like nails

Flouride. That's a chemical. Can cause some nasty health problems if you consume too much.

Fortunately for myself, my house has it's own well. Now that's some good water.

[12th Doctor]

Disagree.  Water maintinence is another thing that government seems to do poorly.  Has anyone tasted city water lately?  I gladly pay for bottled water.

[KEmperor]

My tap water is just fine, I've been drinking it for years with no problems.  I have no need to pay extra for bottled water, but I don't care if people bother to do so.  Dasani is quite tasty.

[Gabu]

Strongly disagree. In cities, there is one primary source of clean water - tap water. Problem is there is no garauntee to it's cleanliness, it has chemicals in it, and it tastes lousy.

Unless you live in Detroit.  Detroit tap water is tasty.

And so is some school's water where they add fluoride.  It gives the water a vaguely sweet taste (this may sound gross, but actually it tastes quite good)... sometimes.  And some drinking fountains taste like nails

Flouride. That's a chemical. Can cause some nasty health problems if you consume too much.

Technically speaking, a lot of things are chemicals.  Did you know that humans consume two to three cups of dihydrogen monoxide on average every day?

[Nation]

I agree to an extent. A lot of city tap water isn't very good (cough*DC*cough*) so I can see why people would want to buy bottled water.

It's great at college!

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Bottled Tap Water? Yes. It IS a sad reflection etc (ESPECIALLY if the water in cities is undrinkable)

Bottled mineral/spring water? No. Water from different rocks tastes different to water from other rocks. Which is why Whisky drinkers make good geologists...

[Bogart]

I disagree generally. If people want or need to buy it, it is completely appropriate that the market bear this out. When I lived in Wisconsin, I often drank tap water. I thought it tasted good, was cold and, in my town, pretty clean. On the other hand, Phoenix water is absolutely awful. It is heavily chlorinated and in the summer very warm. You have no choice but to buy water.

[JohnFKennedy]

Strongly disagree. In cities, there is one primary source of clean water - tap water. Problem is there is no garauntee to it's cleanliness, it has chemicals in it, and it tastes lousy.

Unless you live in Detroit.  Detroit tap water is tasty.

And so is some school's water where they add fluoride.  It gives the water a vaguely sweet taste (this may sound gross, but actually it tastes quite good)... sometimes.  And some drinking fountains taste like nails

Flouride. That's a chemical. Can cause some nasty health problems if you consume too much.

Technically speaking, a lot of things are chemicals.  Did you know that humans consume two to three cups of dihydrogen monoxide on average every day?

Dihydrogen monoxide eh? I prefer to call it water . Somebody scared a lot of people by creating a website all about the dangers of dihydrogen monoxide, a lot of people got very scared apparently.....

Fluoride is in toothpaste as well John so you intake a lot of it anyway....unless you don't brush your teeth......

[John Dibble]

Strongly disagree. In cities, there is one primary source of clean water - tap water. Problem is there is no garauntee to it's cleanliness, it has chemicals in it, and it tastes lousy.

Unless you live in Detroit.  Detroit tap water is tasty.

And so is some school's water where they add fluoride.  It gives the water a vaguely sweet taste (this may sound gross, but actually it tastes quite good)... sometimes.  And some drinking fountains taste like nails

Flouride. That's a chemical. Can cause some nasty health problems if you consume too much.

Technically speaking, a lot of things are chemicals.  Did you know that humans consume two to three cups of dihydrogen monoxide on average every day?

Dihydrogen monoxide eh? I prefer to call it water . Somebody scared a lot of people by creating a website all about the dangers of dihydrogen monoxide, a lot of people got very scared apparently.....

Fluoride is in toothpaste as well John so you intake a lot of it anyway....unless you don't brush your teeth......

LOL. Dihydrogen monoxide. Yeah, that would scare a lot of people.

Flouride in toothpaste is a little different though - I don't swallow that. As I said, it's only in larger quantities that it has negatives.

Still, a lot of people in this thread have shown that tap water quality varies from city to city. Atlanta has 'ok' water, it's not tasty, but it's not terrible, I'd say it's average. I think we'd see a correlation between bottled water sales and water taste in cities.

[PBrunsel]

There is nothing pitiful about Capitalism.

[John Dibble]

There is nothing pitiful about Capitalism.

Yup. My favorite phrase as of late is "Yay Capitalism!"

I think I could make a capitalist out of anyone using e-bay.

[ilikeverin]

Yay Democratic Socialism With The Occasional Free Market Ideal!

[Alcon]

Agree. Having had to boil water in rural areas, I can't totally go for Strongly Agree.

[Nym90]

Strongly disagree. In cities, there is one primary source of clean water - tap water. Problem is there is no garauntee to it's cleanliness, it has chemicals in it, and it tastes lousy.

Unless you live in Detroit.  Detroit tap water is tasty.

And so is some school's water where they add fluoride.  It gives the water a vaguely sweet taste (this may sound gross, but actually it tastes quite good)... sometimes.  And some drinking fountains taste like nails

Flouride. That's a chemical. Can cause some nasty health problems if you consume too much.

Technically speaking, a lot of things are chemicals.  Did you know that humans consume two to three cups of dihydrogen monoxide on average every day?

Dihydrogen monoxide eh? I prefer to call it water . Somebody scared a lot of people by creating a website all about the dangers of dihydrogen monoxide, a lot of people got very scared apparently.....

Fluoride is in toothpaste as well John so you intake a lot of it anyway....unless you don't brush your teeth......

LOL. Dihydrogen monoxide. Yeah, that would scare a lot of people.

Flouride in toothpaste is a little different though - I don't swallow that. As I said, it's only in larger quantities that it has negatives.

Still, a lot of people in this thread have shown that tap water quality varies from city to city. Atlanta has 'ok' water, it's not tasty, but it's not terrible, I'd say it's average. I think we'd see a correlation between bottled water sales and water taste in cities.

Every chemical is dangerous in large enough quantities, including dihydrogen monoxide.

Our tap water here is of very high quality, and I've never bought bottled water in my life. I don't have any problem with it being a bottled, branded product, but it seems pretty ridiculous to me how expensive it is; in most places, a bottle of water costs more than a similar sized bottle of pop (sorry, soda for all of you non-midwesterners).

[Gabu]

Every chemical is dangerous in large enough quantities, including dihydrogen monoxide.

Yes, there's actually a condition called "water poisoning", also known as "water intoxication" or "overhydration".  Basically, your body's fluids need a certain concentration of cations such as sodium and potassium in them in order for your body to function properly.  Drinking obscene amounts of water can dilute their concentration and flush out those cations, resulting in many adverse conditions, including death in extreme situations.  Sodium is bad for you in large amounts, but you do actually need a certainl level of sodium to survive.

So, just remember: drinking water can kill you.

[Bono]

Here, tap water is tatier than most bottled water. But maybe that is just me.

[muon2]

I strongly disagree. The way the question is phrased, it seems like the writers expect the reader to believe that publicly provided water is free. It certainly is not, and it competes in the market with other alternatives, including private bottled water.

Our city is in the final months of a 30 million dollar water softening project. The city compared a number of treatment options to improve quality ranging from remixing well water of different depths, to softening deep well water, to piping in water from Lake Michigan. The technology chosen is similar to the demineralizing techniques used by some companies that provide bottled water. The project is being paid for by the user in the form of increased water rates, and the public strongly supports the project. It will provide the convience of the tap with the quality of premium water.

Private competition is good. So is public involvement, when supported by the public.