Consumers are switching to water as they avoid sugary beverages

Good news. Now they should switch to tap water and it&#x27;ll also be a win for the environment.<p>(To anticipate answers: Yes, I know, in the US water often contains large amounts of chlorine and doesn&#x27;t taste that good. And in poorer countries tap water is often undrinkable. But there&#x27;s no good reason to buy bottled water if your water supply is reasonable, which is true for large parts of europe at least.)

Low margin? My wife switched to La Croix which seems to be the new popular water drink around here. It&#x27;s easily 3x the price of Coke.

The soda companies will be just fine. They&#x27;ve been preparing for this for decades. Who do you think <i>owns</i> the bottled water companies?<p>Hint: Dasani is owned by the Coca-Cola Company. Aquafina is owned by PepsiCo. They&#x27;re only at risk if people inexplicably stop drinking regular bottled water and subsist solely upon San Pellegrino or other sparkling varieties.

Restaurants have to be mad about this.

I fail to see the problem with this.

Water itself is a good trend. The bottle, not so much.<p>For me anyway, if I drink <i>from</i> the bottle then I feel odd afterwards — as if I got a dose of something I shouldn’t have. Fortunately, pouring the water into a glass solves the problem.<p>I try to avoid bottled water anyway. Part of it is the principle of the thing: I used to get water for free when I was 12 and these days it averages $3 or $4? To hell with those companies, they know it’s a ridiculous scam and people just pay it.<p>I would say most of the time I drink filtered water from my fridge, occasionally from the tap and rarely from water bottles. If I do have bottled water, it is only after searching in vain for a simple drinking fountain.

How is water lower margin than a sugar drink that has ingredients and is partly water? At my corner bodega they charge $2 for a 20oz Dasani (which is the same price as a comparably sized gatorade).

I have a water distiller which I fill up with tap water and it takes 6 hours to produce a gallon by evaporating the water that then goes through a filter.<p>Cost me around $200 and I get to see the remaining contents from the tap water at the bottom of the distiller. I believe it uses 20 cents of energy to produce a gallon. It&#x27;s cheaper than bottled water and more environmentally friendly (no plastic).<p>Some will say, I miss out on minerals from the water but I believe that my diet covers them.

The trouble with bottled water is that the minerals are often filtered out. Water is the only way we get certain needed minerals.

BTW your kids should be drinking tap water unless you fluoridate their teeth some other way. Or, I suppose, unless you think fluoridating teeth is a bad idea...

Good for the producers. Fancy bottled water is much more expensive than Soda so they can make more money on a product that&#x27;s easier to produce.

Even if water ends up being turned into a market good, what with bottling; does this affect the water service as a public good at all?

Tip for the frugal: if you go to catering wholesalers you can pick up bottled water still or sparkling for 0.10c - 0.20c each.<p>It&#x27;s a good way to reduce a waistline.