Is bottled water really better than tap?

[Cyclone 10]

It's the coca cola brand that made the news for bottling up slightly processed tap water from a plant in London.

They then left traces of benzine in the water and had to recall millions of bottles.

[Mathom 10]

Sheffield water is the best so I wouldn't think of buying bottled water unless I was out and thirsty. I believe our water has no additives at all, not even fluoride, and you can tell as it tastes really clean and pure. Though not all parts of Sheffield get the nice water.

 

When I'm somewhere else sometimes I have to buy bottled water as the tap water is vile - London for example has disgusting water. And it makes you fart!

[Dick 10]

Anyone in Sheffield who buys bottled water is just proving the power of advertising.

[tom3t0 10]

There has been studies into bottled water which have showed the leaking of chemicals in the plastic into the water. If you pay £3-4 a week for unlimited tap water, why go and pay £1 for a haf litre?

If you have tap water, you'd be tapped to drink bottled water.

If your homeless/travelling, maybe buy a bottle if your desperate, but it makes more sense to go to a pub/restaurant and get a pint of water for free.

Unless that is you like to pay 80p+ for a lemon slice

[medusa 16]

I buy bottled water if I'm out and about, since the alternative would be to buy a soft drink or similar (and I find most soft drinks far too sweet to my liking).

 

I even drink water in pubs (much to my BF's amusement- it makes me a really cheap date!).

[tom3t0 10]

you should refil your botte

you can get a free bottle of yorkshire water

[medusa 16]

you should refil your botte

you can get a free bottle of yorkshire water

 

Oh- I do. I also have a few drinks bottles and a travel mug (cos water boiled and with some extracts of Camellia sinensis in it is much better than water anyway), but if I'm out longer than planned or run out then there are limited places that you can fill bottles up with drinking water for free.

[Bilk0 10]

It depends where you live ive got rubbish seven trent water and it tastes horrible not like good old Yorkshire Water now that made a mighty fine cuppa.

[EdnaKrabappe 14]

I like either. I've taken to drinking room temperature or slightly warm water as well as it's supposed to be better for you... I read... once... dunno where.... I'd rather drink it these days than pop.

 

I remember when bottled water first came out... i was a perrier addict... it was over a £1 then!

[saxon51 10]

Last monday I decided that it would be nice to have a walk into town from Longley to see what was on offer at the second hand markets.

 

It turned pretty hot when I got into town, so I bought myself a bottle of water - the first time I have ever done this - because I am not keen on fizzy pop, and I thought water from the fridge might be more refreshing.

 

Forty odd pence it cost me for a small bottle, and it tasted absolutely foul. I did drink about half of it simply because I was gasping with thirst, but compared to the taste of the tap water we get, it was not at all nice.

 

I tried some later when it had warmed up a bit, but it tasted just the same .... bitter and acidic.

[fox20thc 10]

This sounds daft, but when we go to the east coast for a week I buy some massive 5l bottles of water specifically for the kettle and mixing up cordial because their water is so hard and the shock to my system really doesn't agree with me.

 

Plus you get a furry kettle

[waldershelf 10]

Sheffield water is the best so I wouldn't think of buying bottled water unless I was out and thirsty. I believe our water has no additives at all, not even fluoride, and you can tell as it tastes really clean and pure. Though not all parts of Sheffield get the nice water.

 

When I'm somewhere else sometimes I have to buy bottled water as the tap water is vile - London for example has disgusting water. And it makes you fart!

 

I hate to dissapoint you but our water goes through quite extensive treatment before it arrives at your tap. Its treated with, amongst other things dependant on which treatment works it comes from, Aluminiium/Ferric sulphate, lime and Chlorine. Some works use Magnetite, Caustic soda etc etc.

The purpose of the treatment is to deliver a wholesome safe product at an affordable price to every home in the region.

The differences between various regions tapwater is dependant on the source of the water, most of Sheffield gets it water from the moorlands that surround us and consequently is soft (It has little calcium and magnesium) quite acidic (often less than 7pH) and suffers from colour and odour problems that come from the peat moors.

The South east of Seffield gets water from the Derbyshire limestone area and consequently has high hardness (lots of calcium and magnesium) which makes it difficult to get a lather with soap and kettles etc suffer from limescale, it also tends to taste a bit "chemically" and usually has a very clear almost blue appearance.

The upshot of all this is, although depending where you live what comes out of your tap may or may not suit you taste wise, it is of guarenteed quality and has to meet exacting standards as defined in the water acts. Unlike bottled water from whatever source which does not have to meet the same standards.

One final point that may go someway to explaining some of the posts about Londons water. Statistically if you drink a glass of tapwater in the centre of London, seven other people have already drunk it before its had chance to reach the sea and rejoin the natural evaporation/precipitation cycle.