Bottled Water Vs. Tap Water
By Amy E. Feldman
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Why pay for water from a bottle rather than water from the tap? Why indeed.
Because garbage and the carcasses of dead dogs are routinely seen floating on the lake that supplies tap water in Venezuela, and because the sixty-year-old water treatment facility lacks the technology to make it safe for drinking, Venezuelans are now paying more money for bottled water than for gasoline.
But, in the US, tap water is safe and free, so what is different about that water you drink when you shell out a buck and a quarter for a bottle?
The FDA governs what goes into a bottle of bottled water, the EPA sets regulations for tap water. Over the years, the standards have become, well, pretty much standard so you can expect that the level of allowable contaminates in both are pretty similar.
As for what you're actually getting in a bottle of water, if the label says "spring water" that means it is water that comes from an underground formation and flows naturally to the surface. Public source water, on the other hand, means it comes from the tap.
Is the bottle itself worth $1.25 if the tap water has no carcasses or garbage? That's up to you.
