Bottled or tap: Where do you stand in Canada's water battle?

At home, I use the Brita pitcher (and tap water) - while on the go, I usually buy something OTHER than water (pop, iced tea, juice, etc. - but only if I REALLY "need" it).

And at work - I use a refillable container, and the filtered water that they offer (usually with a Crystal Light packet - or something of that nature).

I can't understand how people are WILLING to throw that kind of money around - Gasoline is at around $1.35 per Litre, while Bottled Water works out to about $3 to $4 for a Litre!!!

Add to that the fact that most people throw the bottle away when they're done (and only sometimes in the recycling) - and it takes an even bigger toll.

In the end, it's THEIR money to throw away - but I'll GLADLY keep that cash in MY wallet instead ;);););)

Tap water!

While it probably doesn't hurt any that I live in Clearbrook BC, which won the worlds best "tasting" water, but even when I'm in other places, the idea of wasting so much plastic and paying so much for the same water that comes out of the tap seems a tad crazy. While there are times and places that bottled water is a good thing, for the most part I stick to tap water. Bottled water isn't even really more convenient, how hard is it to turn the tap on? I would think that if there was a safe way to re-use a plastic bottle, that more people may use tap water; everywhere we're told to not re-use the bottles and if you want to bring water with you somewhere, then you're basically buying more bottled water. Another issue is if you go to almost any fast food restaurant, getting water isn't always easy. You usually get a fairly small cup and no lid, and some of the cups are styrofoam, and then what's worse? Bottled water or a small styrofoam cup with no lid? Unless there is no other good option, I'll be sticking with my tap water!

Well, until I got educated on this issue I didn't really feel that strongly either way, although I always thought bottled water tasted funny. But now there's no way you can get me to buy or even drink bottled water. Some people have got to care about our world, too many just don't want to make the effort because it's inconvenient.

I learned a while ago that bottled water is basically just filtered tap water. So one way or another, all the water you are drinking comes from the tap!

Despite what some people say about the smell or taste, there's absolutely nothing wrong with tap water, and if you have a filter, even better. If you need to drink your water from a bottle, just get a reusable water bottle and fill it up every day and you'll be doing the world, yourself, and the next generation a really big favour!

Damn straight, the cities are doing something right here; if and only if, the municipalities can provide good drinking water. If it smells like chlorine and many municipalities have that problem then, buy your bottled water. Just limit the bottles. I don't understand a city like toronto which has the one of the best tap water in the world, has residents constantly buying the small 500ml bottles. Buy the 2 littre, you know you're going to drink it. And for some reason if you can't, drinkable water can be dumped anywhere. I know tons of people who buy the little bottles and goes through 4 or 5 a day. Maroons. Or heres an idea, get reusable bottles, it's a time tested idea.

Cities shouldn't ban water bottles but say if you are selling bottles in our cities, then your packaging must be biodegradeable plastic, ie. canola plastic that takes mere 4-5 years to decompose. Hell make that a national legislation.

Everyone has heard of the urban legend of the guy who had a thriving business selling bottled water in northern ontario. He was bottling tap water, and selling it. Well it's true and only thing he was convicted of was fraud, for saying it was from a spring. He made millions before anyone caught on. The point is we think tap water is bad and go for something that has guarantee sticker stuck to it.

We as Canadians have and tap into the largest source of fresh water in the world and we are buying bottles. Why not use the communal resources we have or demand they be bettter.

I'm not sure what the fuss is all about because most of us grew up with drinking contaminated city water, thus we had to convert to drinking water from bottles that had been filtered and properly taken care of. Still today, most cities/municipalities have to put "extra" chemicals like chlorine and others to ensure no contamination happens. Well this only questions why we would drink from the tap. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not a solely bottle water only person and yes I drink water from the tap, but the taste and purity of bottled water just seems so much better. If municipalities could ensure that another Walker ton doesn't happen, then maybe they could get rid of bottled water, but I doubt it. Plus the idea of banning bottled water only goes so far as to the hand held drinking water bottles. It does not control water bottles that many homes/companies use for their water coolers. It seems ridiculous to think that we would actually be decreasing our plastic by banning hand held bottles as the water fountain bottles would increase and their plastic is thicker and much bigger than a normal hand held bottle. Can anyone explain the dumbness of these people who want to ban bottles? as long as I recycle the bottle (which I always do and I even take off the paper wrapping and recycle that as well), than I see no need for the ban. Is there really an increase in garbage due to that? I don't think so.

I am a Water Quality Technologist in Canada (www.waterwest.ca) and I will always use city tap water over bottles water. Many people do not realize the health concerns that bottled water can contain. Do you know that there are more failed bacteriological sample in bottles water than there are across Canadian water systems? Yes there are some places where water systems are failing due to inadequate funding, but considering the alternatives. And this is what really appalls me, we get bottled water shipped from other countries around the world directly to Canada and the water is not tested! If someone has concerns with their city run water I suggest you get educated and take a field trip to see where you get your water from and how you can help to make your system safer and cleaner. Then you really can say that your assisting in preserving this plant and its resources. And you can get a better understanding of where you taxes are going. And if I have a professional opinion tap water should be a role that everyone wants. Don't take it for granted.

P.S. there is no debate here. Bottle water has its place but not for urban dwelling homes. Tap water should be prefered

I have a scenario to describe this. I wake up in the morning, I grab a cup from the cupboard. I run the water till it is nice and cold, take a nice glass full and proceede to drink it. now, if it's a good day, then the water WON'T have a taste to it. On a typical morning, the water is dumped back in the sink and I go grab a bottle of water from the fridge.

Honestly, I believe the outrage over bottled water is one that could only be argued with a stable basis. With many cases of contaminated water through parts of Ontario the past few years as well as even some smaller areas of New Brunswick, how can they honestly say that the water on tap is just as safe and good as bottled?

I simply have to state with all this, that once the tapwater is of a grade pure enough to be drunk reliably without it having a flavour, then I won't see the need for bottled water. The market was created by something, and that something is water that tastes like what it's not. IMO

A lot of people are completely left or right on this issue. Instead of just being emotional about it, why not be informed.

Find out what's in your tap water before judging if it's better for you.

Not all bottled water is the same. Different sources and companies have different water. Some may, in fact, be more actual tap water than spring water.

Taste is a matter of... well,... taste. Just because the taste is better to you doesn't mean it's cleaner, it just means that it's the taste you prefer, either because of your palette or because you're accustomed to it.

I prefer Dasani. Some people say it's only tap water, but hey, it could come straight from a sewer, as long as it's cleaned and re-mineralized properly it's much better than water coming out of pipes in your house and water from a spring. Does anybody who drinks spring water think it's nothing but pure H2O?

Then there is the problem of what gets into your system from the plastic bottle, if anything; and what happens to that bottle when someone is finished with it.

I would like to find one site with all the facts. Even explaining the impact of home tap filters. If I find one, I'll let you know.

People should have the choice to buy bottled water or use drinking tap water if they so choose .There is nothing wrong with tap water ,and certainly the bottlers have done a good marketing program ,so towns and cities should fight back with good marketing campaigns ,and it would not be expensive,

The real issue is the plastic bottles ,not some much what is in them..It does not matter if its water ,cola ,or the latest gimmick, flavoured waters . How many of these do you see

in a garbage can ??? and where are they going? Landfill...?

I was once at a gas station , a garbage can there was filled with empty plastic bottles. When I went to pay ,I asked the person at the cash ,why is there not any recycling boxes for them .He stated he asked the manager that same question ....

Answer: Its to expensive to recycle

It is a culture change that is required . The bottlers pay for the recycling programs ,but its a payoff to print money .Its an unacceptable .....corporate culture ....

Their latest excuse is the flavored waters ,fine ,put some thought into the plastic bottle issue ...I dont think they have the picture yet in their radar

There's something disgusting about drinking water that goes down your toilet is cleaned out, chloronated and comes back out your tap.

Still they say it's safer than what's in bottled water. Since they aren't regulated the same you simply don't know what kind of chemicals and run offs might be in Spring Water and much of it comes from all around the world and do you really trust the sources? I mean do I want to be drinking water where a nuclear disaster has occured just not that long ago? Hmm.

Frankly I drink both city water and Spring water equally, both Canadian sources and not well water either as I don't trust that and will bring bottled water to drink for vacations where the water is well water. I do like the taste of Spring Water better and hate when the water starts to taste skunky in the middle of summer.

I send the kids to school with water rather than pop or juice so I look at it as investing in water rather than pop even though I think it's a major rip off how some companies bottled MUNICIPAL water and sell it !!!!

Drinking bottled water has no more benefit than drinking tap water. I used to drink nothing but bottled water until I found out it comes from pretty much the same place. The pop we drink is made with the exact same water as the bottled "pure" water. So really, how much better for us could it be? "Evian" spelled backwards is "naive".

Besides, the bottles that water comes in are very dangerous. A story was done on the CBC that showed these plastics being exposed to rats. 100% of them got cancer. If your recycled plastic container has a 1 or a 7 in the triangle on the bottom, get rid of it. If it has a 2 or a 5 then it's safe. Most pop and water bottles use "#1" plastic, and large water bottles use "#7" plastic, the worst kind. You have a better chance of getting cancer from drinking bottled water than you do from tap water. It's a lesser of two evils, as pretty much all of the worlds water is tainted.