According to the Web site bottledwater.org, the sources of tap water mostly are from larges wells, lakes, rivers, and reservoirs (“Types of Water – Municipal”). The water is treated in the plants in order to meet the regulations of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the United States. Yet not all sources of tap water are safe to drink or use in a daily life. There are some areas in the U.S., the quality of water supply is undrinkable based on the percentage of chemicals, the total number of contaminants and the levels of a single pollutant (McIntyre). According to the Web site dailyfinance.com, updated in 2014, the list of ten cities providing the low standard of tap water consists of Jacksonville, San Diego, North Las Vegas, Omaha, Houston, Reno, Riverside County, Las Vegas, Riverside, and Pensacola (McIntyre). As a result of the pollution, people in the ten areas have to purchase bottled water instead of drinking contaminated tap water. However, in the U.S., aside from the issues of pollution, people likely select bottled water because of the convenience and the belief of purity as advertised.
However, the crucial concern is whether bottled water is safer than tap water as people’s assumption.
Initially, while the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for the safety of tap water, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sets the standards for bottled water (Olson). Under the United States Department of Health and Human Services, bottled water is considered as “bottled water, drinking water, artesian water, mineral water, sparkling bottled water, spring water, purified water” (“FDA Regulates the Safety of Bottled Water Beverages Including Flavored Water and Nutrient-Added Water