Water. Agua. Life source. The conduit of existence along with air. This very essential part of our lives has now become a commodity; something we purchase instead of something we intake for free. A lot of that has to do with the idiotic bottling companies, who use more than 47 billion fossil fuels annually to create these environmental disasters.

But it’s not only about the environment. Bottled water is contaminated. Here’s an excerpt from the latest study on the topic:

The study’s lab tests on 10 brands of bottled water detected 38 chemicals including bacteria, caffeine, the pain reliever acetaminophen, fertilizer, solvents, plastic-making chemicals and the radioactive element strontium. Though some probably came from tap water that some companies use for their bottled water, other contaminants probably leached from plastic bottles, the researchers said.

“In some cases, it appears bottled water is no less polluted than tap water and, at 1,900 times the cost, consumers should expect better,” said Jane Houlihan, an environmental engineer who co-authored the study.

What we forget is that water is essential. The kind of water we use needs to be clean and according to the latest reports, bottled water has no less contaminants.The process of the way the water comes to us is also cleaner than any bottling plant or source.

And according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in 2007, NYC has some of the finest drinking water not just in the United States but anywhere in the world.

Each day, more than 1.1 billion gallons of fresh, clean water is delivered from large upstate reservoirs – some more than 125 miles from the city – to the taps of 9 million customers throughout New York State.

The system responsible for this feat is an engineering marvel. It consists of 19 reservoirs and
more than 6,000 miles of pipes, aqueducts and tunnels. The Delaware Aqueduct, at 85-miles
long, is the longest continuous tunnel in the world, and runs at depths of more than 1,500 feet
in some places. Even more impressive, the system is almost entirely gravity driven, delivering
high-quality water to you without emitting climate-changing greenhouse gases.

Drinking two liters of NYC water each day will cost just $0.50 a year, whereas drinking two liters of bottled water a day will cost more than $1400 a year.

Bloomberg has already banned bottled water in city offices due to the cleanliness of what we get here in NYC. Shouldn’t you be next?