consider this about Aquafina and Dasani, the two best-selling products in this country, which combine for about $2 billion a year in sales: strip away the pretty blue labels and they’re just reprocessed tap water from cities. Aquafina counts the Detroit River as one of its sources, in fact.
http://blog.chron.com/sciguy/2006/04/do-you-buy-bottled-water/
You know, I watched Stossel’s show on bottled water, and I’ve tried various ones (we travel a lot, and I try to drink water as often as I can just so I don’t drink so many soft drinks). Plus having lived in TX and NM where sometimes the local water is really gross and disgusting, in fact, sometimes it’s so bad you cannot even drink the TEA). I don’t know what kind of taste buds their taste testers have but I can tell you, I don’t like a lot of the bottled waters, but I always like Aquafina. I won’t drink Dasani, it tastes like a plastic bottle. So, believe me or not, I don’t really care. Some local water tastes fine, but I know if I buy a bottle of Aquafina I’m fine.
You can watch the Costco brand bottled water being bottled at their (Seattle area) Southcenter store, straight out of the Seattle City Water pipes.