For all those bottled water fans out there. Read on before buying the next bottle.

Ameicans  drank a whopping 5 billion gallons of bottled water in 2001.That's about the same amount of water that falls from the American Falls at Niagara Falls in two hours.

Stephen Kay, vice president of the IBWA, says. "Some people in their municipal markets have the luxury of good water. Others do not." So water bottling companies are helping them achieve a healthy and tasty drink. Thornley, of the Minnesota Department of Health agrees that consumers can depend on bottled water's safety and quality. But he says consumers should feel the same way about the quality of their tap water.

Tap water has an added advantage, it contains Flouride.

Stew Thornley agrees that home filtration systems can improve the taste or appearance of tap water at a minimal cost. However, Thornley points out that consumers need to be careful about maintaining these filters. Typically, specific instructions are included with the purchase of the product. Without proper maintenance, he says, it's possible bacteria or other contaminants can build up in the products.

I have been drinking tap water myself. My family likes the taste of or rather no taste of bottled water so I have a Filter.. The water is purified right off the tap.

Consider this:-) buying bottled water means left over plastic bottles. Thats not being very kind, is it?  Well can't beat the need for cold water. Bottle seems so easy. Put it in the refrigerator and there it is.  For that use a pitcher or reusable bottles can do the trick too.

Plus at the national level, the Food and Drug Administration is responsible for bottled water safety, but the FDA's rules completely exempt waters that are packaged and sold within the same state, which account for between 60 and 70 percent of all bottled water sold in the United States. Also the bottled water is not subject to as rigorous  testing as the municipality water. A city filters almost all bacteria, fecal matter, viruses, parasites, and tests for them too. Bottling companies test the waters once a year and even then they are not required to remove all the pathogens.

So tap water is actually better than the status symbol bottled water. Tap water follows stricter rules, it has flouride to help fight tooth decay, does not require all that plastic and does not need all that fossil fuel to be transported to the consumers.

Go for the tap. Maybe a Pur or Brita should suffice if you do need the taste or the mental satisfaction of purified water.

Some facts taken from FDA, ehso.com 

Image Credit: dsmh2o.com