What's In That Bottled Water You're Drinking?

By Chris Vogel Wed., Aug. 13 2008 at 11:55 AM

Categories: Spaced City

Sure, city officials say Houston’s tap water is safe to drink, but do you really believe them? And even if it is safe, why does it occasionally look or taste a bit off? Why do some people seem to prefer bottled water, saying it tastes a little crisper, maybe even a little better, than the stuff from the tap? And what about the environmental impact of all those plastic bottles, many of which in Houston never make it to the recycler and get dumped right in a landfill? This week, the Houston Press examines bottled and municipal drinking water.

For the past decade, bottled water has been one of the most dominant trends in America. Recently, however, politicians, restaurateurs and nonprofit organizations have tried to bring tap back, saying it costs less, is more eco-friendly, and is just as safe as anything that comes in a bottle.

In this week’s feature, “Houston Turns Back to Tap Water,” we look at different approaches that restaurants take to serving water, we talk to scientists who explain why bottled water and tap water don’t taste the same, we discover that those water filters in the fridge and attached to the faucet can be more harmful than you think, and we take a hard look at whether our tap water really is safe to drink.

Read on and find out the results of our blind taste-test, pitting Houston’s finest against two major brands of bottled water. We also sent samples of tap water and two bottled waters to a lab for analysis. Click here to see the interesting results.

-- Chris Vogel