Is Bottled water better than tap water?

Here's Why:

Tap water has to adhere to strict governmental regulations to ensure the water going to people's homes is safe, bottled water on the other hand is not as regulated. Unlike tap water, Bottled water regulation allows water to contain some contamination from E.coli/ fecal coliform and doesn't require disinfection to get rid of giardia and cryptosporidium.

Sometimes bottled water IS tap water- so you're paying for the same water you could get out of your faucet. Aquafina, for example is bottled with water from the municipal water supplies of Fresno, Detroit and other cities.

Bottled water can be contaminated; a four-year NRDC study found that one-fifth of the 103 bottled waters tested contained synthetic organic chemicals, including a neurotoxin and a known carcinogen. The study also found that one-third of the bottled water would violate state standards and/or exceed microbiological purity guidelines. Separately, in 2000 Consumer Reports discovered that harmful chemicals in the plastic bottles themselves can be transferred to the water.

According to the Container Recycling Institute (CRI), it takes 15 million barrels of oil each year to make the water bottles for the U.S. market alone - enough oil to provide electricity for more than 250,000 homes for a year or enough to fuel 100,000 cars.

Every five minutes the U.S. uses 2 million plastic beverage bottles. Instead of being recycled, 86 percent of plastic water bottles in the U.S. end up in the trash, according to CRI. Those bottles that are thrown away are either buried or burned which isn't only wasteful but can be toxic as well. Incinerating bottles produces toxic byproducts like chlorine gas and ash containing heavy metals and buried bottles can take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade and leach contaminants into the surrounding soil.

My suggestion: Drink tap water and take it with you in a reusuable BPA-free plastic bottle or a lined aluminum bottle or stainless steel bottle. That way, you know where your water is coming from, you're saving money and you're not adding to the build up of plastic-bottle waste. Plus, now that bottles come in all kinds of styles and colors you can bring around something fun not a boring ol' plastic bottle.