Although the decision to grab a glass and go to the tap or to grab a bottle from the fridge ultimately comes down to a matter of personal preference, there are some environmental, financial, and health benefits from choosing the water from your tap. Over the years, and especially since the surge of bottled water, tap water has gotten a bad rap. Some common misconceptions regarding tap water are that it "tastes funny", or that it is "dirty". The truth is that all municipal water systems that serve 25 people or more are regulated by the federal Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974 (amended in 1986 and 1996, see www.epa.gov for more information) so that "funny taste" that you experience is not anything harmful or unhealthy. In fact, there are some elements found in most tap water that you will not find in most bottled water, namely fluoride. Of the 50 largest cities in the United States, 43 of them fluoridate their drinking water. Fluoride has the benefit of helping teeth resist decay by strengthening the protective layer of tooth enamel, and can actually reverse newly formed cavities. In fact, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), every dollar spent on the fluoridation of drinking water saves $38.00 in avoided dental bills.

So, if you are still not convinced that tap water is possibly a better option than bottled, consider the waste produced by the bottled water industry. Approximately 1.5 million barrels of oil are used in the U.S. alone to make water bottles from polyethelyne terephthealate, about 86% of which are sent to landfills or incinerated. In addition, a great deal of bottled water must be shipped from far away places, such as from Finland to Saudi Arabia or from Fiji to the Unites States, and therefore requires more fuel to be used by the boats, airplanes, trains, and trucks. What about all of those bottles? Well, the ones that are thrown away are burned or sent to landfills where they take up space. What about the bottles that you recycle? It is great that you do, in fact, get those plastic bottles recycled, but if you were to replace all of those bottles with a single cup or thermos, the time saved on recycling those bottles could be spent on some other recyclable material. So instead of buying bottled water, try tap. If you don't like it directly out of the tap, try a water purifying system, either attached to your tap or a pitcher that is refillable. The next time you need water on the go, grab your favorite thermos or insulated mug and remind that you are doing something admirable and green!