Even in Las Vegas. Those of you who know me, I am religious about recycling, reducing, re-using. It is rare that I show up to eat without my trusty bobble or filtered water from home. We have an excellent home filtering system at home via Subzero which rates higher than any bottled water you can buy. And even if it passes only through our refrigerator, it's great water. If you've been to my house, you know we give good tap. I try my best not to buy bottled waters or use take out boxes (I have been known to take along my own plastic boxes!). Bottled water is such a scam :( When I do drink bottled, I have a weakness for Fiji and Smart water.10 reasons why you should quit the bottle and do tap water - yes, even in Las Vegas:
1. 98% of Las Vegas water comes from Lake Mead which originates from the Colorado River which is very clean water to begin with? The 2% is from underground wells. Those of you who live in Henderson have the best water coming in and those of us in Summerlin (West) get 15% of our water from wells.
2. Tap water is regulated by the EPA not the FDA. City tap water can have no confirmed E. coli or fecal coliform bacteria. FDA bottled water rules include no such prohibition (a certain amount of any type of coliform bacteria is allowed in bottled water).
3. Bottled water is NOT regulated by the EPA. You are better off filtering your water at home than getting filtered bottle water at a restaurant (unless it's Fiji or smart water). The FDA only requires the bottled water to be as good as tap- not better, i.e., City tap water, from surface water, must be filtered and disinfected. In contrast, there are no federal filtration or disinfection requirements for bottled water.
4. It takes 3 bottles of water to make a plastic water bottle!
5. As much as 40% of all bottled water comes from a city water system, just like tap water.
6. You never know how long that water has been in that plastic bottle and how much plastic has been leached into the water. If you have been concerned about buying BPA-free plastic, you would agree :)
7. 60% to 70% of all bottled water sold in the U.S. is exempt from the FDA's bottled water standards.
8. Most cities using surface water have had to test for Cryptosporidium or Giardia, two common water pathogens that can cause diarrhea and other intestinal problems, yet bottled water companies do not have to do this.
9. City tap water must meet standards for certain important toxic or cancer-causing chemicals, such as phthalate (a chemical that can leach from plastic, including plastic bottles).
10. 38 billion water bottles are discarded into landfills every year, wasting $1 billion worth of plastic made with 1.5 million barrels of oil. You can get about 450 gallons of tap water for the price of 1 bottle of water.
Don't knock Tap. Filtering your own water could save you hundreds or thousands and save you from dumping plastic into the ground. Let's be fantastic, not plastic :)
