Bottled Water: To Drink or Not to Drink

Water is perhaps the healthiest thing you can put in your body, if it is clean, that is. Times have changed, and the current bottle water craze is evidence to prove it. Many people swear that bottled water is the only way to go, while others believe that the only difference from tap water is the price.

I say do what you feel is right, but make sure you know all of the information first. While water treatment facilities make great strides in cleaning our water, there are cases where water has still been sent through the pipe contaminated. Also, what about those people that still use well water. I know that sounds a bit dated, but many of my coworkers still use water from wells. During droughts they are forced to go buy their water in bottles from the store. They also have to worry about contamination from ground seepage. Recently there was a wreck involving not only a large truck carrying a hazardous chemical, but this truck ran into the pumps at a gas station causing a major gas spill. Cleanup crews did their best, but there is no way of knowing how much chemical was able to seep into the ground. The case of bottled water, for these people, is very strong.

Think also of those traveling abroad. My uncle took a trip to Mexico when he was in his early twenties, and he spent most of his time there in the bathroom. He didn't know the water was filled with pollutants that could harm him. It wouldn't have mattered because bottle water wasn't around yet. In this case, a simple thing like bottled water would have made his trip much more pleasant.

Some people prefer bottled water because of the taste. I am one of those people. I know you may think I'm crazy, but not all water tastes the same. I lived with an aunt for seven years, and her water tasted just awful. It tastes like motor oil smells. For this reason, I switched to bottle water. When I moved into my own place, the water tasted much better. I now drink tap water. Not only does this save me money, but I feel better because I am no longer polluting the world with empty plastic bottles.

There have been a few cases where so called spring waters in the bottle, were shown to have in fact been tap water. While I feel false advertisement is wrong, these people got what they paid for. It was great tasting water, in a cute little bottle, and it could travel anywhere.

The decision is up to you, but you should be aware of possible contamination. You should also think about the cost involved with drinking bottled water. It isn't cheap.