Surveys Say Filtered Tap Water is Favored Alternative to Bottled Water

A recent nationwide survey of adult women found that filtered tap water is the preferred alternative to bottled water, primarily because of increasing environmental concerns. A Nov. 27 press release says that of the women surveyed by telephone, 54 percent preferred using filtered tap water over bottled water.

According to the Earth Policy Institute, an environmental research organization, it took 1.5 million barrels of oil to produce the plastic containers for the 8 billion gallons of bottled water consumed in the U.S. in 2006. That's enough oil to power 100,000 cars for a year. Another environmental concern is the number of plastic bottles ending up in the nation's landfills.

The AllAboutWater website says that drinking water - bottled water - has become a fitness craze all over the world. Bottled water companies have taken advantage of people's desire to drink more water, while continually promising to bring consumers pure, high-quality water. In 2003, its said that Americans spent more than $7 billion on bottled water. However, questions have arisen since then about whether bottled water is really worth the price, both in terms of quality and production. There have been allegations that some bottled waters are little more than tap water, some treated, some not.

AllAboutWater reports that an undated blind taste test study of New York City residents to determine if bottled water tastes better than tap water found some surprising results. An astounding 75 percent of the study participants preferred tap water over bottled water. Although taste preferences are highly subjective, the study certainly did nothing to suggest that bottled water just naturally tastes better..

Scott Batiste is the chairman and CEO of Puronics, a Livermore, Calif., manufacturer of water conditioners. He was pleased with the findings of the study announced in the press release. He said that "bottled water consumption has skyrocketed, but people are beginning to understand the negative environmental impact from the production and distribution of those bottles. It's refreshing to see that more than half the women surveyed see a real alternative in filtered tap water. It tastes great and is calorie free, but without the waste of a plastic bottle."

Although local water quality for some people makes it difficult to get tap water that tastes as good as bottled water, there are companies throughout the country that manufacture and sell tap water filters, as well as whole-house conditioning and filtration systems, that can significantly improve the taste of poor-quality tap water.

AllAboutWater says that there are still concerns about the quality and safety of tap water because it can contain contaminants. However, with the use of quality water filters, tap water can now be rendered healthy and safe. Water filters remove more dangerous contaminants than any other purification method, and they are said to work well with municipally treated water.

Bottom line, say the experts, there is no better choice for pure, economic water than filtered tap water.

Sources:

Press release, "Survey Cites Favored Alternative to Bottled Water;" http://www.prweb.com/releases/water/puronics/prweb572234.htm

AllAboutWater; http://www.allaboutwater.org/environment.html