As I write this in August 2007, bottled water has become a $15 billion a year industry. Bottled water’s value to bottlers is projected to climb to $16 billion next year. But what is the value of bottled water to you?

Is bottled water important enough that you order it in a restaurant? Do you so value bottled water that you have it delivered to your home and office? Do you carry bottled water with you wherever you go?

Drinkers of bottled water have rapidly increased in number, so that many consumers are now willing to pay up to four times as much for a gallon of bottled water as they pay for a gallon of gasoline. We drink a billion bottles a week – and dump the bottles in landfills.

Bottled Water’s Purity Value

When we purchase bottled water, we believe it is pure – or at least much more pure than what comes from the tap. But is it?

If you buy bottled water from the Coca Cola or Pepsi company, you are purchasing from big, trustworthy companies, right? About four percent of all bottled water comes from those two companies. However, it is now clearly known that Coca Cola and Pepsi simply repackage municipal tap water.

What the Label Does and Doesn’t Tell You

Bottled water must carry labels, and federal regulation requirements determine what is on those labels. It isn’t always easy, however, to understand what you are reading.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) states that about twenty-five percent of U.S. bottled water comes from municipal sources - water faucets. The two leading brands of bottled water — Aquafina (from PepsiCo) and Dasani (from Coca-Cola) both come from public water supplies.

So when you open a cold, clear bottle of Aquafina or a cold, blue bottle of Dasani, the water you drink comes from the same place as the water you’re using to water your lawn.

Do you know that if your bottled water carries the initials PWS, it does not mean pure water supply? It means public water supply. The company has accurately labeled the bottled water, but not in a way that you are likely to understand.

Bottled Water’s Value to You

As people learn that fact, how many will still be willing to purchase, and carry home, bottles of public water? They can get the same thing from the kitchen tap!

If the water you use in your home carried the same price tag that one of the cheapest bottled waters carries, your monthly water bill would run $9,000! If you use the water from your kitchen faucet the cost is a fraction of that.

Is bottled water of such great value to you?

We are told repeatedly that it is important to have plenty of Drinking Water each day. Some say you should drink 8 to 10 glasses, with the size of the glass not stated. Others believe 10 to 12 glasses of Drinking Water should be consumed daily.

Drinking Water is important - unflavored, unmixed Drinking Water. It is not always convenient, though, to drink water when you need it.

Bottled Drinking Water is one solution, but bottled Drinking Water entails carrying bottles, and disposing of them. The bottles fill landfills.

Drinking Water Coolers

Drinking Water coolers can be better solutions, at work or at home. You can purchase a Drinking Water cooler that chills the water, or you can purchase a simple Drinking Water cooler that serves room temperature water. Since the latter does not actually cool the water, some believe its name is a misnomer, but it does keep it relatively cool.

Dispensers

A Drinking Water cooler is known in the industry as a dispenser. Water delivery companies commonly rent Drinking Water coolers at a low price to customers who order regular service. DS Waters, which we review elsewhere on this website, is an example. They offer three Drinking Water coolers.

1. Ceramic Crock and Stand: This Drinking Water cooler is an attractive ceramic crock dispenser that provides water at room temperature. It can be set in the corner of any room, dispensing clean Drinking Water at a touch. The ceramic crock maintains water purity, and requires only 1 sq. ft. of floor space. Levelers on the oak stand conform to most floors, keeping your crock even.

2. Cold and Room Temperature Cooler: A free standing electric dispenser with two spigots, this Drinking Water cooler provides room temperature water from one spigot and ice cold water from the second. The cold water is kept below 50 degrees.

3. Hot and Cold Water Cooler: You might not refer to this only as a Drinking Water cooler, since its free standing electric dispenser provides both hot and cold Drinking Water. One of its two spigots dispenses ice cold water and the other hot water. The cold water is kept below 50 degrees, and the hot water ranges between 160 and 190 degrees. That’s hot enough for instant beverages, soups, and teas.

Drinking Water Cooler Needs

With your Drinking Water cooler you will need regular delivery of 3 or 5 gallon size bottles of water. If you choose a ceramic crock and stand, as the author did, you simply invert the bottle on top of the crock. The water flows into the crock, from which it is dispensed through a small spigot. Fresh, clean water is always available for drinking or cooking. Other Drinking Water coolers work on a similar principle, with the addition of heating or cooling the water.

Drinking Water Cooler for Emergencies

Drinking Water coolers offer a great advantage in case of emergency. When municipal tap water fails, you still have clean, fresh Drinking Water. Be sure you always have a 5 gallon bottle set aside for emergencies, and your Drinking Water cooler will provide what the tap cannot.

Helpful Tip

Much has been written about Drinking Water coolers. For more information, we recommend the DS Waters website. DS Waters offers more detail about Drinking Water coolers, as well as other Drinking Water information. To read our review of DS Waters, click here or on the DS Waters button at the top of this page. To visit the DS Waters website directly, click here.

In the United States and Canada, nations that once had little concern about Drinking Water, the desire for healthy Drinking Water via filtration has become overwhelming. Drinking Water filtration systems are sold by more than 500 different companies. Some are sold door to door. Some are sold in major “box” stores. Other Drinking Water filtration systems are sold by Internet.

Many Drinking Water filtration systems remove chlorine from municipal water. Other systems remove chlorine plus many other contaminants and germs.

Why Not Municipal Water

Municipal water treatment plants have government standards, but those standards are not always sufficient. In addition, human error may intervene. In Ontario, Canada, for example, municipal water contaminated with E. coli bacteria was the cause of death for seven people in 2000. Since that time, Canadians have paid far greater attention to the serious problems with tap water. They have demanded better Drinking Water filtration systems.

* Choice between E. Coli and Chlorine: Municipal water treatment often seeks to protect against E. coli by adding quantities of chlorine to Drinking Water that has already passed through Drinking Water filtration systems. Citizens are left with dead bacteria, but high levels of a chemical that can also be harmful. Customers purchase home Drinking Water filtration systems to remove the chlorine.

* Choice between Acidity and Lye: In 2007, citizens of a Massachusetts community awoke one morning to news that many were suffering burns to the body after a shower in municipal water that had received an overdose of lye. Instant alerts were issued to keep people from drinking the municipal water until the city Drinking Water filtration system could be cleaned. Some customers purchase Drinking Water filtration systems to reduce such risks.

* Choice between Industry and Chemicals: Nations of the Pacific Rim that are rapidly increasing in industrialization are finding that previously unknown water pollution has become a challenge. The National Association for Business Economics, in a recent (June 2007) issue of its magazine “Business Economics”, reported that the global demand for Drinking Water filtration system products should rise at 6.6 percent per year. “Gains in the developing world,” they report, “will reflect ongoing efforts to deliver safe Drinking Water to the more than one billion people who currently lack access.” Customers will purchase Drinking Water filtration systems to remove chemicals added to counteract industrial pollution.

Choosing the Right Drinking Water Filtration System

When looking for a good Drinking Water filtration system, customers should comb through the quantities of available information first. Read the statistics. Read the specs of each product.

As stated above, many Drinking Water filtration systems remove chlorine. Only about 37 percent, however, are found to reduce amounts of lead in the water.

NSF International certification is a must. If the Drinking Water filtration system you are considering complies with ANSI / NSF Standard No. 53 against the presence of a wide range of contaminants, you can be assured that Drinking Water filtration system will deliver close to pure water.

We have written elsewhere on this blog concerning EPA standards that differentiate between Drinking Water filtration systems and purification systems. Be sure you are getting what you need.