I bottle my own water from the tap. 
In Michigan, another issue is the bottled water source. Nestle is currently bottling water in western Michigan and draining a local aquifier. Its affects are already being seen in a nearby lake and wetland and they’re looking to significantly increase production. Fortunately a grassroots movement has taken them to court.
Links:
http://www.freep.com/news/mich/water5_20030505.htm
http://www.savemiwater.org/
I was watching some cable show on bottled water a couple weeks ago. They were doing a five sample taste test. It ended up being :
Fiji bottled water
LA municipal tap water
Evian bottled water
Can’t remember
distilled water
I remember a few years ago Boston and Ames Iowa tied for best tasting water in america. I prefer the tap water here to bottled water. I wouldnt say the same for places such as Iowa City, or Shreveport
I’m with you here, brother.
Our local water is just fine to drink (or so the local municipality says) and doesn’t taste like “skank,” but I installed an Ametek/Culligan SY-2500 (about $180US) monitored dual filter system back in '98 and it’s been great. It “Y’s” to an In-Sink-Erator Hot/Cold water spigot at the sink (with plenty of room to fill 1L Nalgene bottles) for fresh tasting hot/cold(non-refrigerated) water on demand and to our refrigerator icemaker and in-the-door water. We love the hot water on demand. No more waiting for that damn water kettle to boil for just one cup of coffee or tea.
At about $35 buck a pop for filters every 6-12 months, I save loads of dough by bottling my own. The danger in bottling your own is bacteria growth in bottles that are re-used (such as the Nalgene bottles, bike bottles, CamelBaks, etc). I use Blackburn hydration unit cleaner (with Triclosan), sparse amounts of chlorine bleach and Baking Soda (it sweetens things up a bit). Depends on what things smell and taste like.
“Recent research has shown at the quantum level where chemical reactions take place the effective ratio is more like 1.5/1. Just depends on how you look at it.”
Out of curiosity, could you explain what you mean by this. I’m under the understanding that “quantum” as in quantum chemistry, simply means that electrons have discrete energy levels and and locations of electrons in the atom are based on probability as opposed to exact locations. The ratio of hydrogen to oxygen in water is 2:1. Water does undergo autoinoization where H30+ and OH- ions are present but that is to a very small degree. I’m not trying trying to sound like a smartass know-it-all, I’m just curious what you mean and where you found this information.
If I lived in New Orleans, I’d be drinking bottled 24/7. They get their water out of the Misisisippi River, and really have to work to get it potable. Gives me the heebiejeebies thinking about drinking it. (Must be why you drink the beer there instead)
Here we drink tap water filtered with one of those end of the faucet filters. Fiji bottled really is good, but to expensive to use all the time considering how much water we drink.
This comment was made by “mises,” not me. When it comes to quantum physics or chemistry, I’ll leave it to you experts.
Link to quantum water story-
http://newton.ex.ac.uk/aip/physnews.648.html#1
“the locations of electrons” is misleading at the quantum level since depending on how you observe things they act like particles or like waves, but really are neither until the act of observation causes the collapse to a familiar “classical” state. I also recall reading that the electrons show up in the wrong 'hood at the quantum level vs. what the energy level/shell theory would predict.