Do you drink the water where you live?

[Noasar]

Obviously it will cost a lot of money, I just feel bad for you guys! It’s such a basic thing. I went to some pretty remote areas of CA this year and last year and the water was drinkable and delicious everywhere. It must vary so much from state to state.

[banditpony]

Well your comment was how do we afford to buy bottled water... it's really much cheaper than upgrading infrastructure. That sewer project I mention really hurt a lot people financially.

city to city water varies (My old city had great water, the water in the city next to them. yuck)... or just house to house if they are on well. Neighbor across the street and two doors down has lovely water.

But yeah... CA, many areas pump in water from up north.. they have to have decent infrastructure because they need it to support the produce (and of course there are SO many people).

Also, I think most people have an issue with taste rather than it being undrinkable due to algae or lead or etc.

[Noasar]

That’s true, I do prefer the taste of filtered water from the fridge over tap water but just the thought of always having to buy bottled water...think of all that plastic! But yeah I bought bottled water in Florida recently so we had water to drink in the house and it was very cheap. Buying bottled water regularly just isnt something we do in the UK, unless it’s sparkling or flavoured I guess. It’s interesting to learn how other countries operate

[banditpony]

I feel like if you see someone use a 17FL oz bottle (500ml), they are doing it out of convenience. Anyone can put water in a reusable bottle.

But you (general you) can get water in larger quantities. You can also fill up water at stores and not throwaway ANY container. . . As long as someone is close enough to be in a town.

I feel like being wasteful is a different animal

[mlp4me]

I honestly can’t believe so many people don’t have tap water that’s drinkable! Seriously, I think we take it for granted here in the UK! You’d think in a country like the USA they would have modern enough piping and water treatment systems to make sure everyone had drinkable water. What if you can’t afford to buy bottled water every week?

I have an aunt in Northern CA that is constantly talking about having to purchase bottled water.

You'd think that those of us that live near the largest fresh water reserves would have the best tasting water, alas, it's a lie. Michigan, such a shame! I live near Lake Winnebago in WI, which we call Lake Winneseptic as it's not clean at all. We deal with a lot of manure spills here in NE WI that leaves ground water contaminated. I don't deal with this in my town, thank goodness, but the water is so hard that I have to replace faucets every 5-8 years due to calcification and can't even use a water softener.

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[BlackCurtains]

Wow, didn't think this topic would be so popular

Bottled water in the US is held to some standards but you still have to be careful about where it originally came from. A lot of the big name brands are municipal source water from large cities (like New York) and put through additional filtering in order to call itself "purified water" on the label. It's not a lie, per say, but it's still tap water from somewhere.

Spring water (which is what I prefer) needs to come from an actual natural spring and harvested in a certain way in order to label itself as Spring water. My go-to is ZephyrHills Spring Water. It's a Florida brand and the water sources are close by, so it's always fresh and delicious! You can even get it delivered, which is something I would look into if I lived alone.

Our pets drink what we do and we use pet fountains

As of right now bottled water (and everything else) has disappeared from store shelves. Hurricane panic so we're drinking whatever we can find.

[Pokeyonekenobie]

We have a well at home and the water is delicious.  However, when I'm at work in town, I don't like the taste of the tap water (spoiled by my well I guess) so I do have bottled water at work.  I tried using the drinking fountain to refill a bottle once (feeling guilty about using plastic bottles and all that) and after it sat for a few hours I could see a bunch of stuff that settled in the bottom of the bottle and it grossed me out.    So I don't do "town" water anymore.

[TravelingTwinkler]

Aie my heart is breaking for Florida! I grew up there and only drank tap water, but when a hurricane hit (e.g., Hurricane Charley) or a really bad algae bloom situation, boiling water/bottled water was essential to not get sick. That's for people but also for pets! Fish tanks, dogs, cats—you name it.

My family still lives there right now and they like the taste of filtered bottled water, which makes me feel guilty when I visit my mom, but to each their own. At least recycling is a big, big thing these days!

Flint, Michigan and other places are another can of worms entirely. Drinkable tap water is a basic need and unfortunately not everyone in the US or world is so lucky.

—mari

[dragonfly]

Oh, my goodness.

Yes, the tap water in my area is theoretically safe to drink ... certainly no toxic algae issues! I began avoiding fluoride about a year ago once my bf told me of its dangers ... now I  only drink fluoride-free water whenever possible ... which means no tap water for me.

[TravelingTwinkler]

Oh, my goodness.

Yes, the tap water in my area is theoretically safe to drink ... certainly no toxic algae issues! I began avoiding fluoride about a year ago once my bf told me of its dangers ... now I  only drink fluoride-free water whenever possible ... which means no tap water for me.

Ooh I've been wanting to get a good fluoride-removing filter! Cutting down whenever possible is definitely good. Salt Lake County apparently started adding fluoride to their water in 2003 after a local vote.  Any fluoride-removing filter recommendations?

—mari

[Sukey]

We buy bottled water and my husband brings tap water home from work. We live on the country and have a spring. I plan to filter the water and boil it so we don't have to carry it all the time. The only thing that concerns me is that I know they spray chemicals on plants along the road from a plane and I don't want that in my drinking water. We already have too many chemicals around us. Also I know the water at my house tastes very irony.

Post Merge: September 26, 2018, 10:21:33 PM

Yeah we can drink it. I've been buying water for years though and recycling gives a little extra money.

I'm curious about this. Do you get paid to recycle?

[Sea_Breeze]

Our water is fine out of the tap but hubby and I buy spring water instead.. Have 2 x 20 L containers that we fill up at a natural spring in town

We also drink unpasterised milk from a local farm, catch fish off the coast and hunt for shellfish in the rockpools nearby..... If your into hunting you can do that too...

We're pretty lucky where we live to be able to do all that

[BlackCurtains]

Oh, my goodness.

Yes, the tap water in my area is theoretically safe to drink ... certainly no toxic algae issues!

More and more people are being hospitalized and there's been so much dead wildlife washing up all over It keeps raining too so areas are flooded which just moves the toxins around.

[goddessofpeep]

When I lived in Detroit, I used to drink straight tap water, no problem.  Maybe I wouldn't now with all that's been going on in Flint and whatnot, but it never bothered me as a kid. Heck, I used to drink straight from the hose, and loved it! When I first moved to CA, I also had no problem with the water.  Then I moved to this particular area in Southern California, and the water is *horrible*.  It smells.  Terrible.  If a faucet hasn't been used in a few days, it leaves this horrible stench on your hands that doesn't go away for hours.  You should see what it does to the walls in the shower after just *1* use, and the build up on the faucet is just insane.  I don't know what they're putting in the water over here, but it's *nasty*.  So now I buy drinking water.  We just got a fridge that has a filtered water hookup, and I'll sometimes drink from that if I'm out of the bottled stuff.  But no more straight out of the tap. 
*shudder*