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Comment by AlexandrB | Hacker News Reader

I love that the American solution is not to try to bring the municipal water up to standard but to spend 10x-100x on bottled water.

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It's already up to standard, people are largely just not rational.

My home city ranks near the top of any "best tasting drinking water" poll I've seen, and people still complain and buy bottled water. It's ridiculous.

The vast majority of citizens in the US are served by perfectly serviceable potable water they just turn their noses up at it.

The standards regulate things that will actually hurt you, not things that will make the taste go off.

The reason is that you can buy a case of clean bottled water for ~$1-2, providing you clean, good tasting drinking water for a month. This is something even people at or below poverty level income can afford and dramatically increases quality of life.

The individual has little to no control over the water or pipes that runs the water to their home. It is a take it or leave it situation. If you own your home, then you might be able to install a water filtration system. This might be at the very least $200+. Okay. That doesn't compete with the price of bottled water. What about just a water filter pitcher? $30+. Well, now that's far more reasonable, but still represents 20-30 cases of water.

Bottled water IS the cheap, easy option. Should people fight and vote for infrastructure improvements so that they have clean, good tasting water? absolutely. But while we're working on that, we'll drink bottled water.

$1 for enough bottled water for a month? Where did you get that number from?

We were living away from our home (and water filter) for a few months and bought the cheapest bottled water we could. It was $1 per gallon. Where is this magical bottled water plant that 60 gallons of water for $1.

I'm going to concede on the particulars of how low the price was because it must have been just a killer loss leader in-store sale at walmart - the cheapest I can find now online is ~$7 for the same flat of 35 17oz bottles.

I am, however, going to disagree with how much water. 2 gallons of water for a single person each day seems to be more than just excessive for drinking water. Even if I was drinking 17oz each primary meal and another upon waking and upon going to sleep, that still leaves 171 oz remaining to reach 2 gallons.

Actually me and my wife went through approx 1 gallon per day, not 1 gallon per person, so approx 0.5 gal per day per person.

We use an RO filter, provides amazing taste.

Friend of mine spent 6 months sailing from Europe to and around the Caribbean and back. He said they planned with 0.8 gallons per person per day. That has some safety margin in it, of course, so 0.5 gal per day per person is likely bang on actual consumption.

When you're thirsty the bottle of water is a pretty good solution. Bringing the municipal water up to standard feels like it would be a multi-year project from investigation, lobbying, running for office to make the changes if no other candidate will, giving up all the time that takes as well.

I'll buy a bottle of water and vote.

Where I live it happens to taste fine but my relatives live off well water and I always pack a case of water when visiting.

The government is evil and companies can do no wrong ;)

Makes a whole lot more sense to maintain separate filters for drinking water. How can we expect our toilet and shower water to be the same quality as drinking water. A filter for drinking water makes a lot more sense.

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