Bottled Water

Today in class, we talked about “consumption”, and we discussed the difference between “wants” and “needs”. Somehow, the conversation swung to bottled water. I immediately sat up straight and was focused throughout the entire discussion. Even though I didn’t participate in the discussion, it was very interesting to hear everyone’s comments/thoughts on bottled water. After the discussion about bottled water was over, I started to form ideas about what I was going to write my blog entry on. Here’s what I came up with:

In Winter Quarter 2008, I took a course called Water Quality Management taught by Professor Stefan Wuertz. For part of the first homework assignment, he had us compare the price of tap water per 1,000 gallons with the price of bottled water (any brand since they are all about the same price) per 1,000 gallons. He gave us the price of tap water as $0.88 per 1,000 gallons, which is the cost of City of Davis municipal water (I assume this is correct, but it can be easily checked on any water bill). For the prices of the bottled water, I called Safeway, and the person on the other end helpfully provided the prices for the products. Here were the results:

Bottled Water:

50 fluid ounces bottles costs about $3,046 for 1,000 gallons

2-gallon containers costs about $1,645 for 1,000 gallons

The price of bottled water is about 3,450 times more expensive than drinking tap water, and if the bottled water is bought in bulk (2-gallon containers), it is still about 1,850 times more expensive. Ridiculous. And here’s the kicker, most of the bottled water is just reprocessed tap water from different locations in the US. Also, the myth that bottled water is somehow healthier than tap water is untrue. I highly recommend clicking on that link, but if you don’t have time, then I’ll just summarize it quickly:

1. Tap water is just as germ-free and healthy as bottled water.
2. Tap water tastes fine.

This reaffirms what I learned about tap water in Water Quality Design taught by Professor Jeannie Darby. Tap water is fine. The US wouldn’t let cities distribute water that is full of germs and that is going to make people sick.

If you’re complaining about the taste of Davis water, you have a somewhat legitimate gripe. Davis water is considered hard, but I’m sure you’ll get used to it if you drink it often enough. I used to think it tasted a little funny, but it doesn’t bother me anymore.

So, here’s what you should do. Buy a plastic, permanent water bottle or get an empty bottle and fill it up with tap water before you go to school (You can wash the bottle out or use a new bottle every week or so, if you are worried about germs accumulating in your bottle, but I have been using the same bottle for a year, and I’m fine) That way, you still have that refreshing water that is just as healthy as regular bottled water, but you are saving money. Yay!