Dear Golam,

Your question is incomplete. I think the origin (water source, country, treatment of water) of tap water is important. I would prefer tap water from a country where environment is not polluted, water sources provide good quality water and the water treatment does not spoil the water.

Dear Golam,

Your question is incomplete. I think the origin (water source, country, treatment of water) of tap water is important. I would prefer tap water from a country where environment is not polluted, water sources provide good quality water and the water treatment does not spoil the water.

Tap water is preferred if the country or city ensures that it is supplying proper water for human consumption. There are many places in the developing world where the tap water is not always safe. In such situations I would like to use bottled water if the company has reputation. I have seen some bottled water that is really bad.

Golam:

In the EU there are different categories of bottled water, and to class a water as natural mineral water, or spring water, or bottled water, different standards have to be met. Bottled water can simply be tap water bottled, whereas natural mineral water must meet a much more rigorous set of criteria (see http://www.fsai.ie/faq/bottled_water.html). Here in Ireland in recent years we've seen criptosporidium contamination in tap water in Galway, frequent boil water notices in a number of other municipal water supplies and issues to do with lead pipes in older parts of some towns and cities.

There are lots of reasons people drink various bottled waters in preference to tap water, some of which are for non-scientific (but still valid) reasons, and there are lots of places where tap water is excellent, reliable and sustainable.

I would prefer tap water to bottled water. At least, I will be having fresh water.

There are still many places where tap water can be drank. Therefore, I prefer tap water, of course.

The trouble is publicity and ads. In most cases people drink bottled water out of habit, ads or social influence.

It goes without saying that, in any case, he alt should be the first concern.

for me, tap water taste is different from country to another..like in Middle East countries where there are many rivers I can feel that tap water is quite nice if compared to bottled water

I believe that the quality of tap water differs from one country to another and from one region to another, I think tap water SERAIR better if it is not cpntamined

Dear Andras,

Thank you. The question is not incomplete, I did not mention it intentionally. I know in a number of poor developing countries situation in terms of tap water quality but wanted that RG people identify this during discussion instead of me identify it in my explanation which you did!

Dear Nageswara,

I do agree and know the situation that in many developing countries in terms of tap WQ as such but left it open for the RG people to identify it because I wanted people should compare and contrast between tap vs bottled water and provide a reason of their preference between the two. In the subcontinent, people use bottled water since they donot trust on city tap supply so that could be of one of their reasons of choosing bottled water!

Dear Tiernan,

A good overview. Yes I have also found from reports and J paper that some bottled water donot meet the standards and some tap water quality may not be acceptable at a particular time say after floods. Some water treatments may not be able to remove Crypto etc

Dear Golam

In India though tap water is relatively good where potable water is supplied through the municipal water supply system. But there are large parts of India where it is still not available. So particularly during the monsoon period it is a challenge not to contract diarrhea unless you are very careful. That is the time I normally like to use a bottled water from a well known company.

I would prefer bottled water for drink and tape water for other purposes.

Dear Asmat, Yes it our personal choice

Dear Carlos,

Yes in many developed countries (e.g. USA, Canada, UK, Australia) tap water are the best since very stringent regulations in place to ensure Drinkingwater meets the highest standards and quality.

Dear Chtaini,

Yes I do agree that the quality of tap water differs from country to country and from one region to another.

Dear Mahfuz,

It is your personal choice. In many developing countries, where tap WQ is not of high standards, people use tap water for washing clothes, cooking, showering whereas purchase bottled water for drinking. It is important how you see your own safety!

@Golam, "Comparative analysis between bottled and tap waters as well as its comparison with current Serbian regulations, European Union Directives and World Health Organization standard are shown in this paper".

My personal opinion is that we have very good water, but last three years we do use bottled water in combination with tap water.

http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/Article.aspx?id=0367-598X1100062P&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1#.U5ekWnKSyls

In the case of Argentina, the tap water is very good quality, although most people believe otherwise.

Thus, many families buy bottled water, which is tap water that have stolen chlorine.

This bottled water is more vulnerable to bacteria and ends up being more harmful to health.

Dear Ljubomir, Many thanks for the links related to Serbia, it will help me!

Dear Federico,

Yes I do agree that some bottled water found contaminated with microbial pathogens. Also plastic bottle used can cause leakage of chemical called phthalates, which is harmful for us.

I know dear Golam. I' ve lived a number of years in the US as well as in Europe.

What strikes me is either the weakness of people in respect to publicity and ads, or else (also) the strength of publicity that converts people into consumers of bottled water, period; without further reflection.

I believe that in many places the distinction is fake and artificial, as a product of publicity in the mass-media.

Golam et al., I get 20 cubic meters of free tap water, because it was an election promise of the state govt. It's certainly great, not having to pay for water every month. But I need to use 2 water filters at home. In my college apartment, I normally use tap water for everything, except drinking. I buy RO plus alkaline water from the machine. It's $ 1 (Malaysian currency) for 10 liters. Thanks.

Dear Carlos,

Thank you for your open opinion about bottled water!

Dear Miranda,

You are lucky of getting some free tap water! Hope the tap water in Malaysia is also drinkable?

I will give an example from my country (Latvia). In general, tap water should be safe to drink, but there are some places, where it is not recommended to use it because of the old pipes (water before entering these pipes is "good"), so they drink bottled water. Of course, other people have heard of this problem, so to be sure they also use bottled water even they could drink water from the tap (everything is OK with their pipes). Some people prefer to drink bottled water because they don't like the taste of their tap water (to "much" iron in some places). Some people drink bottled water because they think that it is better than tap water. Most of the houses in country side have water boreholes, and in many cases there is to much iron, so they used bottled water.

Golam et al., in my family, we have been boiling tap water and drinking it for years. Then we noticed that the water quality had got worse, that's why we started drinking RO water. From the machine, it's cheap. [In relation to US$, it's about equivalent to 3.8 of our ringgit, but of course, it fluctuates.]

Dear Artis,

Old pipes could be a problem but urban water authorities are supposed to rectify those problems. They are supposed to ensure that water supplies are safe and do not cause any health hazards to consumers. In a number of countries people may use boreholes or even treated rainwater for drinking.

In the USA we allow levels of industrial and farm-produced contamination in both our tap and bottled water, and have not even set standards for some very serious contaminants, like Chrome-6 or perchlorates, and our standards for certain compounds are probably set too low, like arsenic, chlorides, nitrates, presticides, solvents, etc.

Dear Miranda,

thank you for additional information

Dear Craig,

The US EPA, under the auspices of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), places strict limits on roughly 90 chemicals or contaminants in community drinking water systems, which is accessed by nearly 270 million people in the United States

Yes I agree with Andras...We need to be very sure about source and treatment protocol followed in public water distribution system of any country. Treatment plant needs regular check up and validation by various agencies. Source of tap water which has no pollution is well accepted to drink. Now a days RO and Uv treated water are in demand. Hence our drinking water has to be safe after all.

Actually we have water from drilled deep well, drilled shallow well; sachet water produced by small scale water entrepreneur and bottled water produced by large scale water entrepreneur.

Rural dwellers may not afford bottled water on a daily basis because of cost. Their preference goes for factory-filled plastic sachet and hand-filled hand-tied polythene-bagged drinking waters. Again because of cost some people living below the poverty line cannot afford to drill deep borehole which to some extent produce clean fresh water most of the time. They will prefer shallow drilled wells that are contaminated by microbial pathogens. In all cases quality test is required to be sure of what communities are drinking. Water regulatory agencies are not proactive in this regard. This kind of test is lacking because of cost and is an aspect we are looking into. I intend doing further studies in various localities on a comparative note for various kinds of packaged waters namely bottled, factory-filled plastic sachet and hand-filled hand-tied polythene-bagged drinking waters.

In Cameroon, especially in major cities/towns, bottled water is preferred because of the general believe that it is good quality water for drinking. Uncertainties in effective treatment of tap water is a concern, but majority of the population has to depend on it for drinking water due to the cost of purchasing bottled water. While major ion concentrations in both water types are within the WHO guidelines, the microbial quality of most tap water sources is a major concern in most regions.

Thank you Mr. Kibria.

In Bangladesh, there are different source of drinking water. In the city area usually bottled water is favourable than the tap water. Because, in the tap water different pollutants were found including bacteria even earthworm. In the coastal region usually tube-well is the source of drinking water. But in the hilly regions, rural people use the stream water for drinking. Sometime they collect drinking water from the leaching of hill surface. In the rural area of plane lands, tube well is also favourable , however, normal pond water is boiled and treated with alum and then ready to use as drinking water. Bottled water is recently favoured in the coastal belt because of high salinity in the aquifer.

In the city area taper water is highly contaminated with different pollutants and bottled water is the only source of drinking water.

Now I shall say you about Saudi Arabia as presently I am working here. Bottled water is the only source of drinking water. Here is no alternative source for drinking water.

Though, tap water is also available in saudi arabia, people prefer bottled water.

In Iraq, the bottle water is available for most of Iraqi citizen, but also tap water used!

Dear David,

This always happens in a situation such as in your case in Nigeria, where costs could limit people’s ability and accessing to better quality water. It is unfortunate that water regulatory authorities are not doing much for which they are responsible for

Dear Dr. Golam,

It is really a good question. Every body should be aware of it. I prefer tap water as compared to bottled water, if available. Now a days water purifiers are available. So outlet of tap water through water purifier, is best solution. We fill purified water in a pot prepared from wet soil. The pot decreases the temperature of water by evaporation, so that the temperature of water remains (approximately) 5-10 degree lower than room temperature.

We carry purified water (may be fridge cooled) in thermo-shield bottle of stainless steel, rather than plastic bottle (preferably).

Mobile (tap) water is preferable as compared to static (bottled) water. Best example is the water of river, as compared to that of pond.

It also depends on where the bottled water is stored or placed. If sun rays fall on bottled water it may be possible that algae/moss may develop. The water filled in Plastic bottle tests bad when it becomes hot.

Dear Mengnjo,

In some selected third world countries this could be a common problem that tap water may not upto the high standard as you mentioned (microbial quality in Cameroon), which may be main reasons that bottled water is preferred over tap water.

Dear Partha,

It is very unfortunate that Bangladesh people are facing so many problems in relation to drinking water; tap water is contaminated as you indicated with bacteria. Though shallow tube wells could be other sources for drinking but I understand they are also contaminated with high levels of arsenic in most districts (except Hilly areas). Therefore it appears that they donot have much choices but to go for bottled water. I also gathered that in coastal districts where freshwater aquifers are contaminated with salt/saline, people rather harvest rainwater for drinking?

Dear Partha,

Do you have desalination plants in Saudi Arabia?

Dear Fikrat,

Thanks for informing that both tap and bottled water are used in Iraq. What is the source of your tap water?

Dear Soma,

Thank you for your inputs. I do agree that we have to vigilant when selecting raw drinking water offtake points (sources) (should be uncontaminated catchments away from human, agricultural and industrial activities if possible).

Dear Deepak,

Thank you for your comparison between tap vs bottled water. Yes though most bottled water meets applicable enforceable standards, but a minority of bottled waters can contain chemical or microbiological contaminants of potential concern. (see the following weblinks to a four years study report which was carried out by Natural Resource Defense Council, USA)

http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/bw/exesum.asp

http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/bw/bwinx.asp

Dear All,

I am glad so many people commented this thread. I only mention I have asked a similar question

https://www.researchgate.net/post/Are_you_interested_in_your_drinking_water

in this March but there were only 20 persons interested even a highly sophisticated scientist down voted the thread.

Dear Andras,

I will send an answer regarding your question within 2-3 days

https://www.researchgate.net/post/Are_you_interested_in_your_drinking_water

We have perfect tap water in Lithuania. No problems.

I think this question is a call for research in all over the world, to compare both types of water, investigating all mentioned aspects including the affect on environment. in my country, in addition to the water bottles, in almost each town we have shops sterilizing and selling water in large bottles which used many times, the quality of this water is questioned, and there is a need to study this type of water.

I personally, prefer tap water because the other type tastes sweet.

Bottled water in plastic containers when kept in refrigerators, is not safe as it becomes carcinogenic. Though there are numerous nos. of individuals who still prefer this product,but then there are also those who carry simple RO water in plastic bottles & use them again & again.This to my opinion it is a safe method.Though citizens in India living in towns,cities & megalopolis use tap water,which is treated & is safe, but then there are times when the distribution pipe lines criss crossing with sewerage channels could get rusted,with the result, it becomes contaminated. Such distribution pipe lines are now slowly but steadily replaced by durable plastic pipes,so that rusting does't take place. In general, bottled water in India is of doubtful quality,unless it is from a known brand,which is rare enough,considering the magnitude of end users.

Dear Zivlie,

This is a good news that in Lithuania the tap water is very safe!

Dear Ahmad,

Yes it needs to conduct a comprehensive research and investigations across the globe on this topic including impacts on the environment in the line with sustainability in drinking water. Adequate and safe water is important and drinking water is the basic human right but many people (e.g. in poor third world country’s) donot have access to safe and adequate drinking water!

Dear Chandravadan,

There are both pros and cons in tap and bottled water. Yes RO water can be helpful to people who live in rural areas without clean water, far away from the city's water pipes.

Dear Andras, it does happen. Several questions are phrased and re-phrased one and again. Question about ethics, management, water, animals, etc. There is a certain redundance that, I beleive, cannot be avoided.

I guess it is a matter of nice ontingencies when we all get attracted by one question (re-phrasing) rather than another. Issues such as heavy job-load, opportunity, free time, and many other circumstances.

More or less the same has happened to me with one or two quetions.

All in all, @ all, dear friends, we all must profit from these random circumstances and enhance our conversations...

...while we get a good glass of water... Right?

In Brazil, we have water distribution systems that provide good quality water. However, there is a trend of drinking bottled water. I see this trend the problem of what to do with plastic bottles. When are collected ... ok! And when they become waste?

Vladimir Vladimirovich Loginov from Russia, State Research Institute on Lake and River Fisheri... sent an answer direct to me (which I translated into English)

На работе в бутылках. Дома через фильтр.

At work they use bottled water and at home filtered tap water .

In Austria, the quality of tap water generally is very good and I never hesitate to drink it. I never would buy bottled water in Austria. However, in some regions there may be a problem with nitrate, nitrite, and ammonium in ground water, caused by fertilizers in agriculture. As quality control works well with public water providers, it can be a problem for quality of tap water only when household use their private house well.

Dear Alexandre,

Glad to know that tap water in Brazil is of high standard and quality. Yes plastic bottles could be a problem but people should be educated about proper disposals of empty water bottles so that they can be recycled

Andras is correct. You need to reformulate your question. Some of the issues are Biphenyls contained in some packaging. The source of the water Canada or the Yellow River. pH range, amount of chlorination, floride, etc. Perhaps you can ask some of the contributors to suggest some different rewordings of the question.

Dear Franz,

Very happy to know that tap water in Austria is of high standard. Yes nitrate originated from agricultural activities could be WQ problem, It can cause methaemoglobinemia (blue-baby syndrome) in infants

In my country we prefer tap water, not because tap water is safe but because we know bottled water is from the same sources and may not be as treated as tap water.

In Iraq, bottled water is most used in Iraq, but at basrah city RO water is used and tap water is used Kurdistan region in iraq

Hello to everyone,

Here in Brazil the use of water is very unevenly distributed across the country, which is very large. There are places where the tap water is plentiful and there are spots (in northeastern Brazil) where the lack of it is a constant and drink is consumed, often in deplorable conditions.

We also have several regions that do not have public services treatment and distribution of water and people drink in their own backyards drilled wells or collect directly from natural sources, without quality control. In these cases usually the houses have filters that are bought very cheap in local businesses.

Here in Belo Horizonte tap water comes from public services that charge for such supply and water quality control. However, although the quality is attested, people rarely drink directly from the tap and have additional filters at home through which they pass tap water to drink. In most large cities the picture is similar. But in remote locations and small towns often it does not repeat itself, as I said above.

See you later,

S.

I totally agree with the point that this issue depends strongly on the geographical location, access to safe water, etc. What I would like to add the discussion is that the choice of tap versus bottled (especially mineral) water seems to me to be also strongly influenced by publicity, or in other words it´s a matter of fashion in some locations. When I was a child, almost nobody at my home town would have even thought of drinking bottled water. It was the time of Coca Cola and similar drinks (which are by the way nowadays not so well viewed anymore).

Now, it´s the era of mineral water - it is true that in many cases it´s much cleaner and has better organoleptic properties than tap water, but its benefits are also often highly overestimated. I knew a guy, who was ordering, for a very high price, a Alpine mineral bottled water from the Swiss Alps for being claimed to have some special magic vital properties, and he really believed in this :-)... So, it´s better to not turn this choice in a kind of obsession :-)...

Dear Ahed, Thank you for information that you found leaked chemicals in bottled water, this is one of the concerns for those who are in favor of good quality tap water/filtered water

Dear Firoz

Yes some people are in favour of tap water as they feel safer and believe that bottled water could be of the same sources but expensive!

Dear Fikrat

Thank you for letting us known that all types of drinking are in use in Iraq including bottled water, RO and tap water

Dear Sergio

It looks good quality tap water are available at some /most locations in Brazil but people still use filters but in some places (where there is no services) people harvest water from drilled wells and natural sources (which could be of low quality)

Dear Kamal,

I understand you have poor rainfalls in Jordan therefore you have to depend on other sources (filtered water or bottled water) for drinking

Dear Svetlozar

Probably those companies are now focusing on mineral water, bottled water since people are now much aware of individual health and effects of consuming soft drinks (with high sugar) and are not consuming as much soft drinks as before!

Dear Golam, the risk perception of tap water is contrary between citizens and scientists. The quality of tap water in Germany is better than the image! - I drink both!

I agree with Wolfgang! I also drink both and the quality is similar!

German tap water is better controlled than bottled water but citizens often do not know and prefer bottled water. I also think that there is a change in mind and tap water is getting more common.

The reason why I and a lot of Germans drink both is that traditional bottled water in Germany contains gas that is missed in tap water.

Dear Matti,

Good to hear that in Finland people use tap water in most areas because of good quality, a lucky country!

Dear Wolfgang

Thanks for informing that the quality of tap water is excellent in Germany

Dear Anja

Thanks for informing that German tap water is better controlled than bottled water!

An answer received from Hans Lambers, University of Western Australia

I use tap water, which is perfectly safe in my country (Australia), and find it a waste of money to buy water in a bottle in my country (Australia). I may filter it, to get rid of the chlorine taste, but not because it is not safe.

Dear Golam,

That's right, you understand the scenario I described perfectly.

See you later,

S.

Just to say hello and tell,

that (drinking) water resources in my country, AUSTRIA (Europe) not only are (99%) safe and mostly without serious contaminations. The existence of the ALPS, and many mountains built from "archeo-limestone" provide excellent filtering of rain water and naturally melting snow over the year. Really severe and rigorous legislation, therefore not only the possibility to but also recommendation for testing dubious water wells/sources in some areas (qualitative testing also for private wells / springs is possible and easy provided). Concerning use of tap water: all cities and villages will do their best (municipal or public/governmental "duty") to serve citizens with the best quality of water available. Many private wells too (each of them has to be tested by legislation for its quality, i.e. if it can be used for human "use" (definition whether water can be used credibly for man - babies, children, & adults or it can eventually be used only for application / irrigation in the garden, or for cattle with some restrictions/restraints). Concerning Bottling / Drinking from bottled water: For a long time in my country there were sold (mineral) spring-water(s) and subterranean water(s) (gassed or natural, demineralized or mineralized, often called or too) only in glass bottles. Glass not only inert, safe and "economic"() and therefore "healthy", but after a while (and within the last 25-20 years food & beverage industry forced) plastic (PET) bottles were produced and are in use from which (as we know now) softeners can be eluted. I therefore prefer drinking either from (publicly provided tap water [which in SALZBURG is one of the best in Austria, ozone-, not chlorine-treated as in many regions of Europe]), IF I need mineral water I buy it rather only in glass than in PET bottles. I have no attitude so far to be accompanied by a PET-bottle containing drinking water over the day (yes - I know - I am not only privileged because of the plenty of water in our country) and am glad that the/a privatization of the water sources/market for now is not planned (as our politicians insist to say despite impending/blustery discussion in the EU in favor of “privatizing generally all” and so also this important source “WATER” for the individual. Unfortunately the matter is so complex that one cannot span the whole topic in its importance for human beings ("human right to have access to clean and proper freshwater-sources on an ecologic base"). Unfortunately I was not able for now to read all 80 replies to this thread which I hope to get through within the next days.

Needless to say that "WATER" and the ACCESS to it for the population/all people will be the most ardent theme in the future of our world (esp. when OIL is no more the juggernaut and reason for wealth of some individuals on earth…but as I heard and saw in TV-reports, those are on the way to make their money again!) .

If you want to know what is going on (but I guess you all know about), just google for: < Water resources commercialization > and similar keywords.

Regards

Wolfgang

I prefer certain bottled water on these grounds;

Tap vs. Bottled Water

In this day and age, it seems like bottled water is becoming more and more popular. It has practically become the icon for healthy beverages. There are approximately 475 bottled water plants in the U.S., producing 600 brands of bottled water. It is estimated that one in six American households use bottled water as either the primary or only source of water. In California alone, residents consume over 33% of the bottled water that is sold.

In this module, we shall investigate the "virtues" of bottled water as well as its similarities and differences with the water you get from your household faucet.

Due to the large difference in price, most people want to know what the difference is between tap and bottled water. Just how much are Americans willing to pay for bottled water? In 1990, the average cost of bottled water and vended water in the U.S. was $0.90 per gallon. This may not seem like a lot to you, but it does when you compare it to the average cost of tap water in California: $0.80 per 500 gallons!

Bottled water can come from wells, springs, artesian wells, or the municipal water supply. It is regulated as a food product by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It is important to note that the FDA�s standards are essentially the same as those set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which regulates public water supplies. In some states, however, bottled water requirements are stricter than those for tap water are.

Click here for definitions of underlined words.

Tap water can come from surface water (lakes or streams) or groundwater. Unlike bottled water distributors, public water suppliers usually track cases of water-borne illness. Furthermore, if a contaminant exceeds EPA standards, public water suppliers are required to notify citizens of the contaminant, its level in the water supply, its health effects, and measures that can be taken to prevent illness.

Lastly, the tap water industry usually employs chlorine disinfection to guard against regrowth or re-entry of microorganisms, which may leave tap water not tasting as good as it would otherwise. Bottled water, on the other hand, utilizes ozone disinfection, which is tasteless and odorless.

How is bottled water regulated?

Bottled water was not always standardized. That is, water bottling companies had the liberty to label their bottled water any way they pleased. This all changed in 1996 when the FDA set standards that all bottled water companies were required to follow. Some of the standards included:

Bottled water from municipal supplies must be clearly labeled as such, unless it is processed sufficiently to be labeled as "distilled" or "purified" water.

Bottled water must be processed, packaged, shipped, and stored in a safe and sanitary manner and be truthfully and accurately labeled.

Bottled water must also meet specific FDA quality standards for contaminants.

Is bottled water really healthier than tap water?

One contributing factor to the popularity of bottled water is that people commonly believe that bottled water is "healthier" than tap water is. Calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg), in particular, are important minerals we would want in our water. Death rates tend to be lower in areas with tap water containing higher levels of Ca and Mg. It has been shown that deficiencies in magnesium are capable of producing heart disturbances, including 215,000 fatal heart attacks in the U.S. each year, and as many as 20,000,000 fatal heart attacks worldwide!

However, sources say that few brands of bottled water offer a significant amount of minerals. Below is a comparison of calcium and magnesium in bottled and tap water in a few major cities. The numbers represented in this table are the percentages of FDA recommended daily intake per liter for adults.

Bottled Water Company %Ca %Mg Tap

Water %Ca %Mg

Crystal Geyser 1 1 San Diego 9 6

Evian 8 6 L.A. 4 4

La Croix 6 6 Houston 4 1

Perrier 9 1 Chicago 4 3

San Pellegrino 20 14 New York 1 0.4

Volvic 1 2 Detroit 3 2

Sources: FDA; city water department; bottled water companies

From these figures, it can be concluded that bottled and tap water can be equally "healthy" in terms of calcium and magnesium content, depending on where you live.

What is the difference between the different types of bottled water anyway?

Mineral water, still water, sparkling water, seltzer water and club soda, sterilized water, and distilled or de-mineralized water�. What do all of these have in common? They are all different types of bottled water. So what is the difference?

Mineral water is drawn from an underground source and contains at least 250 ppm of dissolved salts. Whichever minerals are present are what make mineral water what it is. Some minerals that may appear in mineral water include calcium, iron, and sodium.

Still water is water without the "fizz" caused by gas bubbles. Ordinary tap water and bottled water in larger containers are examples of still water.

Sparkling water is water which is carbonated (contains CO2, producing the "fizz"). It can either be naturally carbonated or mechanically carbonated in a process where CO2 is added to normal tap water.

Seltzer water is tap water that has been filtered and carbonated. Club soda is seltzer water with added mineral salts.

Sterilized water is used to make baby formula and is also drunk by people with immuno-compromised systems. It must be processed to meet FDA�s requirements for commercial sterility.

Distilled or de-mineralized water is usually tap water that has been treated to remove nearly all minerals and sodium that occur naturally in water.

Bottle Maintenance

"What is bottle maintenance?," you ask. After all that you know about tap and bottled water now, if you still think you prefer bottled water, it is important for you to take good care of the bottle from which you drink. Huh? Bacteria grow best in warm and moist environments. That means the environment created by an unrefrigerated bottle of water, once the seal has been broken, is the perfect place for bacteria to grow. This produces a plethora of unwanted health risks.

Here are some tips for bottle maintenance. Don�t forget to share them with your friends!

Wipe the seal with a clean cloth after each use.

Avoid any type of buildup in the bottle cap.

If your bottle is refillable, make sure it is well cleaned and rinsed before refilling. If possible, recycle the old bottle and obtain a fresh, sterile, sealed bottle.

http://people.chem.duke.edu/~jds/cruise_chem/water/wattap.html

Dear Wolfgang,

Many thanks for your contribution and an excellent overview on drinking WQ (tap, wells) in Austria which is 99% safe. Rigorous legislation, and testing in place indicate the seriousness by authorities in your country about the safety of all beneficial water users!

Dear Jeremiah Odhek Masime,

Excellent overview between tap vs bottled water. Many thanks for your time. I will send you another reply later (currently busy with other thinks)

Dear Ahed Jumah Alkhatib, Jordan,

Further, could you please let me know the leaked chemicals from plastic bottle water that you have detected

Jean Pierre Paul, Mauritius Sugar Industry Research Institute, Mauritius sent an answer direct tome

Dear Golam,

Unfortunately trends are seldom dictated by common sense or shall we say reasonable/logical and it is also a matter of convenience for which modernization/globalization is apparently willing to pay. The same is true in Mauritius with regard to bottled water it provides a kind of being sophisticated that force many to fill the same empty bottle with plain tapwater.

It is also true that during the periods of flooding in summer there maybe some risk of tap water supply get contaminated as a result of excessive loading of the existing water treatment facilities (e.g. muddy water), bottled water then become more convenient (justifiable I will say) since one ought to boil water before drinking.

The graze for bottled water is an imported habit by tourist/foreigners whose culture or diet call for this irrespective whether the water supply of the hosting country is safe or not, that provide them with a sense of being at home when the make with which they are familiar.

As you rightly reported, bottle water produced an unnecessary environmental pollution issue for locals and I think more importantly there is a health issue associated with bottled water in plastic containers especially when it is not refrigerated, as well as the potential formation of bromate in water treatment such as ozonolysis. These risks are seldom known to the public.

Dear Jeremiah Odhek Masime,

Again thank you for providing a good discussion in the context of USA. In particular Ca 2+ and Mg 2+ in drinking water (whether tap or bottled water) could be an important source of essential minerals, deficiencies of Ca 2+ can cause osteoporosis and whereas and Mg 2+ deficiencies can cause ischemic heart disease, cardiac arrhythmias, and sudden death. In this regard it may be important to check out the mineral contents of our drinking water (whether tap or bottled water).

An important study by Arik et al. (2001) reported that North American tap water and North American bottled waters generally contain low mineral levels. They found that European bottled waters contain higher mineral levels than North American tap and bottled waters

Azoulay, Arik ; Garzon, Philippe ; Eisenberg, Mark. 2001. Comparison of the mineral content of tap water and bottled waters . Journal of General Internal Medicine. 16(3): 168-175

In Iraq bottled water is prefer in middle of Iraq, at Basra city RO water is used, In Iraq Kurdistan tap water used.

Still the levels of the Magnesium and Calcium ions are related to water hardness. Their levels in water will determine whether the water is drinkable or not. They should remain below the MCL

Dear Fikrat,

Thank you for informing that based on locations within Iraq, bottled water, RO water and tap water are used

Dear Jeremiah Odhek Masime,

Yes hard water can have high mineral content such as calcium and magnesium. Recommendations have been made for the maximum and minimum levels of calcium (40–80 ppm) and magnesium (20–30 ppm) in drinking water.

Great @ Kibria we are in agreement

Antimony and bromide in bottled water

An important finding of leaching compounds in bottled water with respect to antimony (Sb) and bromide (Br). The study showed that that there are leaching differences among different bottled water classes and various plastic bottled materials used. Among plastic bottles, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles exhibited higher Sb and Br. Among the bottled, the average Br and Sb concentrations followed the order of NCR (non-carbonated)

In Sudan most people use tap water rather than bottle water for drinking, the bottle water was high prize for normal people, although in some districts and also in autumn the tap water was not clear, most people obligate to use it

Dear Sara,

Yes, price would be one of the determinants (in particular in developing countries) whether people go for tap water or bottled water.

My dear friends, what do You think about this water DUBOKA from my area. more information on this water and also other kind of bottling water may be found here, read the pages available!

http://books.google.rs/books?id=R8My4J3b-sUC&pg=PA258&lpg=PA258&dq=Mineral+water+Duboka&source=bl&ots=uJOO-YXThv&sig=-d_Cl8BatUoJw4UZS3X1qDFMG_I&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ci6cU7SKNMyY1AXh_4DgBw&ved=0CDYQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q&f=false

Dear Ljubomir,

thank you. I will have a read and will then summarise for all if I managed to access the book

Thanks Lijubomir, it was really interesting article.

Dear Ljubomir et al.,

Two important facts form the book ‘Clean Soil and Safe Water ‘edited by Francesa F Quercia and Dragana Vidojevic (2012)

• In water scare country (Israel), water resources management include desalination of seawater and brackish groundwater, and reclamation and reuse of municipal wastewater. By 2020, practically all municipal wastewater will be reused, mainly for agricultural irrigation. The above policy will help solve three problems: mitigate (partly) the shortage of water; prevent pollution of natural water resources; preserve agriculture in its current size

• Though water is essential for life, but it can and does transmit diseases from the poorest to the wealthiest across the globe. Among the waterborne diseases, diarrhoea has an estimated annual incidence of 4.6 billion episodes and causes 2.2 million deaths every year. 884 million people in the world still do not get their drinking-water from improved sources, almost all of them in developing regions (over a third in Sub-Saharan Africa)

A good question with the addition of comment of András Bozsik .

In Sri Lanka, many studies have shown that the bottled water quality is not upto the standards. This is true for many regions. Please refer to the following publications.

http://www.sljol.info/index.php/CMJ/article/view/4149

http://www.pgis.lk/watersym/docs/proceedings_2012.pdf (Please refer page 20)

In contrast, the pipe bone tap water is of higher quality which is regularly tested by some government organizations.

In some regions, water supplied as tap water has higher hardness due to the groundwater sources used. In Sri Lanka, if surface water is used for supply (mainly surface water is used for water supply in Sri Lanka) the water quality is considerably reasonable and reliable in quality.

Calcium concentrations in water vary significantly according to the source. In most instances, US bottled spring and purified waters have similar calcium concentrations to tap water. Mineral waters, in general, and tap water in a few regions of the USA and Canada (Phoenix, Dallas, Jacksonville, and Kitchener) have much higher calcium concentrations. In terms of the recommended calcium intake, the highest calcium waters can contribute up to 13% (tap waters) and 54% (mineral waters) of the suggested daily calcium intake. All the purified water brands presented in the data have negligible concentrations of calcium.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2488164/