For years, Americans have been buying bottled water for convenience, improved taste, and its perceived health benefits compared to tap water. We spend more on bottled water per gallon than we do on gasoline.
The biggest selling brand of bottled water is Aquafina made by Pepsico. From the look of the bottle with snow capped mountains, one would think the source of the water is some lovely, quiet stream or underground springs in the Alps. Not so.
*MOUSE PRINT:
Tucked at the bottom of the label of some bottles of Aquafina (others have no disclosure) are the words “Bottled At The Source P.W.S.” Most people would have no idea what P.W.S. stands for, and that was probably the way Pepsi wanted it.
It actually means “Public Water Supply,” in other words, tap water. That’s right Aquafina gets its water from the tap, puts it through a seven-step purification process, pumps it into bottles that some say harm the environment, and charges you a fortune.
With some prodding from a consumer group, Pepsico announced last Friday it was going to come clean on the Aquafina label and say what P.W.S. stands for. Coke on the other, the maker of Dasani bottled water, has had no similar change of heart about disclosing that its purified water comes from the tap too.
None of this is meant to speak ill of tap water, that repeated tests have shown is generally safe and tasty to drink in most communities. In fact, expert wine tasters did a blind taste test of tap water from cities around the country, and recently named the tap water from Salt Lake City, Boston, and Columbia, SC as the best tasting.
