Tap water is cheap, democratic (in that water authorities provide a public good) and remarkably safe. It doesn’t take enormous amounts of oil to be bottled and shipped. Apart from the rare, unavailable bottle — mostly when I’m hot and exhausted in tourist areas of D.C. and there’s no fountain, or when I’m visiting someone’s home — I drink tap water. (Under the same rubric, I’ve even cut back on soft drinks, preferring home- or office-brewed coffee or tea.) Bad bits of news about the United States water supply won’t dissuade me.
Unconvinced? need some facts? I’ll defer to today’s article at Treehugger.
What you say is true. And we’re “tappers” here, too. We do use one of those Brita pitchers because the pipes in our building are old, and bits can come out once in a while.
And, the thing that really bothers me is the amount of left over plastic bottles that end up in the trash and landfills. It’s staggering to ponder.
Once when we were in Quebec the waiter asked if we wanted Mayor’s water, I was confused until I realized that he meant the wanted that the mayor drinks, i.e. tap water.
You might think of marketing Marion’s Water in DC.
Yeah, me too. Tap water, as much as possible.
My better half (Mr. Web Diva) is actually an environmental attorney for the State of Tennessee. Years ago he told me that city water was much safer than bottled water. Bottled water doesn’t have nearly as strict regulations governing it. He would know. He also says filters like Britta are fine — though you do need to attend to them.
I drink tap water, tho sometimes use a Britta for improved taste. In my county, the water is quite good, but in some places the tap water just tastes disgusting. It may be safe to drink, but it’s unpalatable (e.g. NYC). Maybe it’s the pipes, but I just can’t do it.