In some cases, publicly-sourced tap may actually be safer since it is usually tested more frequently.
Across the globe, people drink roughly 10% more bottled water every year, but Americans continue to consume more packaged H2O than people in other countries do.
Last year was the first time Americans drank more bottled water than soda.
In fact, a recent report found that almost half of all bottled water is actually derived from the tap.
The Environmental Protection Agency is responsible for conducting those tests.
However, if you live in one of the 15 million (mostly rural) US households that gets drinking water from a private well, the EPA isn’t keeping an eye on your water quality.
In a 2011 report, 13 percent of the private wells that geologists tested were found to contain at least one element (like arsenic or uranium) at a concentration that exceeded national guidelines.
A recent study from the International Bottled Water Association found that North American companies use 1.39 litres (45 oz) of water to make one litre of the bottled stuff.
So think twice the next time you consider buying a case of bottled water.
If you can’t find it, contact your local representative.

Effort to ban plastic water bottles in national parks would end under budget deal.
At the behest of the International Bottled Water Association, Congress is preparing to approve a must-pass budget bill that includes language aimed at restoring the sale of water in disposable plastic bottles in all national parks.
For nearly six years, national parks have had the option of banning bottled-water sales as a way to reduce plastic litter and waste management costs.
From Cape Hatteras to the Grand Canyon, more than 20 park units have instituted the ban after first installing public drinking-water stations for visitors carrying reusable bottles.
For the last three years, the bottled-water industry has lobbied Congress to help overturn the ban.
In 2015, Congress added a rider to a budget bill instructing the National Park Service not to expend any federal funds on the bottled-water ban.
Last year, Congress ordered the National Park Service to produce a report justifying why some parks had continued with the ban.
She and other advocates argue that many hikers and other visitors to national parks won’t opt for sodas if they can easily fill up containers – for free – from water stations.
In 2016, Calvert was a top recipient of campaign contributions from the bottled water industry, receiving $10,000, and those donations became an issue in his re-election campaign.
Calvert couldn’t be reached immediately for comment, but during his campaign last year he said his legislative action stemmed from “concerns with the park service policy that allows the sale of bottled soft drinks but bans the sale of bottled water.”

Spotsy water main break impacted some area businesses.
A locally owned ice cream stand sat empty over the weekend because of a broken water main in Spotsylvania County, potentially costing the business thousands of dollars in revenue, owner Jim Troyer said.
Jimmy T’s Soft Serve on Courthouse Road closed early Friday afternoon, when the county advised many residents and businesses to boil water before using it after the water pipe broke off U.S. 1, Troyer said.
A restaurant in Cosner’s Corner, for instance, served bottled water and a fast-food chain sold canned soda instead of fountain drinks.
Troyer said he does not need water to make ice cream, but does need it to regularly wash off the stainless steel cups used to mix his product.
Other establishments stayed open but took precautions.
The restaurant’s soda fountains have water filters, but the local health department “didn’t feel comfortable with us using the water,” said Dan Wallace, who owns Arby’s franchises in the Fredericksburg area.
Employees sanitized the drink system after the county lifted its advisory, he said.
“We’re just thankful to be back in normal mode again.” Troyer said a health department official dropped by his stand early Friday afternoon to hand out a flyer about the advisory.
He said she recommended closing if employees there could not boil water.

A Harrison County seventh-grader sought to get to the bottom of that question as part of his science fair project.
To start, Gavin offered a hypothesis: “If I test eight drinking water samples from various locations, then it will prove that bottled water would be the safest to drink over tap water.” He then tested for contaminants and metals.
Next, he separated his findings by tap water location and bottled water brand.
Study findings Surprisingly, Gavin found that within his sample set, it was actually safer to drink tap water over bottled water.
While neither his bottled water nor tap water samples are considered unsafe to drink, he learned that the pH levels in the bottled water he tested was lower than any of the tap water samples he looked at.
Bacteria are more likely to grow and spread in water with a lower pH level.
My science teacher (Patty Brooks) was surprised.” Harrison County Water Systems Manager David Perkins said he also found the results surprising.
“But based on the pH levels alone, his conclusion is a safe one to draw between the two.” Gavin wrote: “I can conclude after the tests, that bottled water is not the safest.
The product is often advertised as “pure” or the result of a “rigorous purification system,” leaving many to conclude the water is of a better quality than tap water.
Upon research, Gavin proved that’s not always the case.

In this segment from Motley Fool Money, the team discusses the results of recent research regarding soda and bottled water consumption. As bottled water grows in popularity — and soda declines — investors will have to consider the long-term impact this trend will have on beverage industry leaders, including Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO), Pepsico (NYSE:PEP), and Sodastream (NASDAQ:SODA). A full transcript follows the video. Trump’s potential $1.6 trillion investment We aren’t politicos here at The Motley Fool. But we know a great investing opportunity when we see one. Our analysts spotted what could be a $1.6 trillion opportunity lurking in Donald Trump’s infrastructure plans. And given this team’s superb track record (more than doubling the market over the past decade*), you don’t want to miss what they found. They’ve picked 11 stocks poised to profit from Trump’s first 100 days as president. History has shown that getting in early on a good idea can often pay big bucks – so don’t miss out on this moment. *Stock Advisor returns as of March 6, 2017 This video was recorded on March 10, 2017. Chris Hill: Move over soda, there’s a new leader in the US. According to the latest research, Americans drank more bottled water in 2016 than soda. And Jason, we have seen soda consumption on the decline for over a decade. But I was still a little surprised by this news. Jason Moser: I actually was not, and the reason why was because I look at myself and I think — I mean, I have been so ingrained in my Diet Coke habit for so long, and if I have made such a drastic change in my…

“In 2016, bottled water overtook carbonates to become the leading soft drinks category in off-trade volume terms, an astonishing milestone a decade in the making,” it said.
While the fizzy soda category has experienced an annual volume sales decline since 2003, bottled water grew every year over the last two decades, except 2009 during the depths of the Great Recession, driven by consumer concerns about the effects of artificial sweeteners and sugar.
In the four decades since the launch of Perrier water in the U.S., consumption of bottled water surged 2,700%, from 354 million gallons in 1976 to 11.7 billion gallons in 2015, according to the International Bottled Water Association.
Scares over possible water contamination have helped boost demand for bottled water over the last few decades, experts say.
But what people don’t know: When they buy bottled water, they are often times drinking the same water that comes out of the tap.
A spokesman for the International Bottled Water Association says purified and spring water must meet Food & Drug Administration quality standards.
The U.S. was recently ranked 20th among 192 countries that could have contributed to plastic waste in the oceans, according to a 2015 study led by Jenna Jambeck, an environmental engineer at the University of Georgia and published in the academic journal Science.
Still, soda and sugary drinks may lead to an estimated 184,000 deaths each year among adults from diabetes, heart disease and other obesity-related illnesses, according to a landmark 2015 study by researchers at Tufts University published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation.
Several recent studies have linked diet soda and cardiovascular disease and showed a correlation (if not a causation) between cancer and aspartame.
The beverage industry says people who are overweight and already at risk for heart disease may consume more diet drinks in an attempt to control their weight and the Food and Drug Administration has ruled that artificial sweeteners are safe.