Water Water Everywhere

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I was at Fred Meyer, an Oregon grocery store owned by Kroger, when I passed a shelf displaying multiple types of bottled water.  While the selection of over a dozen brands of bottled water floored me, I had NO idea that the Natural Resources Defense Council actually counts the number of brands selling bottled water in the United States to be more than 700.

Subject: Bottled Water | Date: 08/05/15 |
Photographers: James Kiester & Dani Cogswell | This picture was taken by the author of this blog. |

I find it interesting that there are so many versions of the exact same product.  Understand, this is water in bottles, with different labels.

Companies DO try to put their own spin on the product.  One company states their bottled water is, "made by nature, not by man."  All water is made by nature.

Another purveyor of packaged H2O puts on their bottles, and I'm not making this up, their "pure pristine water is imported from Earth."  Forget the implication that other bottled water is from extraterrestrial sources.  Linguistically, you can't "import" a product from a place where you are.  If a product is from a place where you are, we call that a domestic product.

The fact that 700 companies sell enough bottled water to make the enterprise economically viable means consumers are buying this stuff like potato chips.  It's been said that Americans spend $6 billion a year on bottled water because it's safer than tap water.  Ah, but this is not so Number One Son.

According to Food & Water Watch, common tap water is tested more frequently than bottled water.  The drinking water, from our faucets, is continuously monitored and treated according to federal standards. If local tap water is unsafe then water companies are obligated, under federal law, to notify the public, and correct the problem.

Admittedly, if you're putting together an Earthquake emergency kit, or a roadside emergency kit, the inclusion of bottled water makes sense.  It might also make sense in some sports/training situations.  Even in these cases though, price should be the only factor determining which brand a person buys.
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