Bottled water vs Tap water

Cr@ckSH0t · 10-13-2007, 08:26 AM

In my social studies class we recently got into a debate, one which was the class vs I. We were discussing the fall of the roman empire and the anarchy which ensued and we somehow got into a discussion about what equipment you need to survive a disaster. Now, i live in Florida, so it was unanimously voted on the likeliest disaster to occur in our area would be a hurricane. After awhile we can to the topic of water. The entire class universally accepted (including my teacher) that bottled water was the best to have in this kind of emergency. I felt that this was a load of B.S. Why not go to home depot or some other place and buy large containers to fill up with tap water. Not only is it cheaper, but safer and quicker as well. You dont have to beat the thousands of other people racing to grab the bottled water like you. Well, needless to say I got burned by the class, big time. They wouldnt even consider my p.o.v. and also they never said one good reason why bottled water is better than tap water.So,finally, the epitome of faulty logic and blindly following instructions, a girl in my class said that she only heard bottled water, not tap water, to be in the news so that was what she was going to follow, the END!! Well, I would like feedback on this, whether you support my way of thinking or theirs. (By the way, these were all 12th graders)

.....And yes, my ego was hurt.
Btw, im 18 now Sweeeettttt!!!!!

ezearln · 10-13-2007, 08:45 AM

Well I can feel for your ego! But don't let it sting too long cause the fact is that MOST bottled water IS tap water! The only real benefit in buying bottled water is the convienance of the packaging and to some the taste. It's to be remembered though that most of the containers used for bottled water tend to break down within a relatively short period contaminating the water inside. I'd recommend food grade PVC or butyl containers specifically made to hold water long term as well as stocking a gallon of clorox for purification.
Remember in a survival situation it's far better to be a wolf than a sheep. As your class mates graze you might ponder that.

Cr@ckSH0t · 10-13-2007, 08:52 AM

Thx, we have four of these 5 gallon plastic containers downstairs we put water into in case of an emergency. My dad says he puts a half a cup of bleach into them to stop the contamination or something. When I talked to my dad about the tap vs bottled water, he said thats what he's been doing for the last 20 years or so and he has never even bothered to tell me that!!!!!

ezearln · 10-13-2007, 09:04 AM

Whoa there! 1/2c of Bleach per 5 gallons is way way WAY too much almost to the point of being dangerous, I only use 2 cups of clorox to "Sanitize" the fresh water tank on my camper! That of course is mixed with about 5 gallons of water then agitated for 20 minutes and left to stand overnite and then drained and refilled without adding clorox! Note how I repeatedly said CLOROX? The reason is Clorox is heavily filtered and refined almost completely pure chlorine bleach believe me it is worth the extra cost, 2-3 TABLESPOONS of Clorox to a 5 gal container is more than enough to sanitize and keep the water from contamination for between 60-90 days. after that the water should be dumped or used and then refilled and treated.

Cr@ckSH0t · 10-13-2007, 09:11 AM

I probably heard wrong, my father is a doctor so I doubt he would be so stupid as to put too much in there.

ezearln · 10-13-2007, 09:20 AM

I wouldn't imagine he would but chlorine is a dangerous chemical, even at household strengths. One of those that too often folks use thinking if a little is good then alot must be great. Toxic levels can be reached very quickly and is isn't just an ingestion by drinking problem either Chlorine breaks down in UV light and constantly off gases so there is an inhalation threat as well. Also if no one has ever told you never ever mix chlorine with any other chemical ever. Especially anything with any form of acidic componants to it.

Big Dog · 10-13-2007, 03:22 PM

My sixty gallons of stored water are city water. I get a periodic report on water quality, which folks have no idea of with their bottled water. Since most municipal water is treated already (at times, I can smell the chlorine) it can be stored as-is - no added treatment necessary. If it makes us feel better - 15 drops of NON-SCENTED chlorine bleach to five gallons of water.
Keep it stored in a cool and dark place, it'll keep well for a long time. I rotate my water every year - no problems.
I like the 7-gallon "Water Cubes" at Wally's - rugged, stackable and have good spigots for easy pouring.

Once I read a story in the news (yeah, consider the source . . .

), of a name-brand of bottled water being taken from the Thames River in England - now, I consider that tantamount to coming from a drainage ditch . . .

Triggerjerk · 10-13-2007, 03:37 PM

In the book "Becoming Self-Reliant" the author, Ken Larson, recommends 16 drops of unscented chlorine bleach per gallon. I do not know if that is correct or not. Mrs. Triggerjerk and I regularly lose power in the winter, which means no heat or water pump. We bottle our own well water each November and add no chemicals. Has not killed us yet. Your teacher and classmates can spend their money on bottled water. Save yours for a nice .22 rifle!

gunney_m · 10-13-2007, 03:43 PM

Water is Water.

TexasT · 10-13-2007, 04:05 PM

You can say water is water unless you live in a place where the water tastes like vomit warmed over (i.e. Galveston or New Orleans). I'd prefer the taste of bottled water over tap water, but if I lived in a place with good tasting water I would have no problem using tap. I don't think one over the other is necessarily correct. You could get those Ozarka ppl to deliver you some of their 5 gallon things, that would work too.

GoodAim · 10-13-2007, 04:47 PM

I know what you mean TexasT. I live in Port Arthur and here the water is awful. I have never drank any of it unless it was by accident. I buy bottled water. I normally have at least 2 cases on hand. Unless they think there may be another storm then I go buy 12 cases. This last little Hurricane we had the power was out for 2 days! Lucky me has a generator though. I can power the entire house including the A/C. I am not worried about any kind of outages.

The water here is not curable IMO by any means!!

Dan22 · 10-13-2007, 09:50 PM

When i moved to Florida in 1978 I couldn't believe how bad the water tasted. Some people have wells with sulpher water that smells like rotten eggs.

My latest refrigerator has a great filter that makes the city tap water taste OK.

If I had a preference for survival water it would be the 5-gal bottles you can get in BJ's and other outlets.

But, in the end, it you need water for survival I doubt if taste would have much to do with it.

SPOCAHP ANAR · 10-13-2007, 10:23 PM

My mother in law always stores up soda bottles of water and fills the tub up when a hurricane is announced; just in case.

Don't let the ignorance of your peers bother you. While they are spending their money on $5 a bottle of water at the market when the hurricane is a coming you can spend your's on ammo to protect your stash and maybe go get some of theirs.

Full MeTal Jack · 10-13-2007, 10:38 PM

Crackshot your on the right path for self relience. Another key item is fire. The ability to make and keep fire and to boil water. Boiling water from an untreated surface fresh water source will kill the dreded crypto virus. Super chlorination will not kill it. Cypto's outer shell is so tough cl2 will not oxidize it. A rolling boil will do the trick.
Next you need the abillity to filter water. There are many small portable filters available. One thing with them is the ceramic filter, it needs to stay wet or have the ability to rejuvenated.
Crackshot, I can tell your not a boyscout, otherwise you could have dominated the debate.
Adding bleach to a untreated fresh water surface supply can disifect some of the water but as stated, it will not kill Cyrpto Sporidium and that other virus, Giardia. Also Chlorine in this example will combine with organics in the surface water to form trihalomethanes, a known carcinigen.
Big Dog can smell the chlorine in water. If it's well water, a cl2 smell is WAY TOO high or a breakdown in cl2 residual from something in the piping. Usually a smell of cl2 is from a treated surface water treatment facility where the Utility adds amonia and chlorine to form a monochlorimine. Monochlorimamines is not as strong an oxidizer as cl2 by it self but last longer in water. Sometimes there are taste and oder problems due to the chemistry of the surface water supply.
Miss Texas T knows. Galvaston's water is ah, er ah, well it's drinkable and meets the state's requirements for a safe drinking water. My assumpstion it that Galvaston gets it water from the Wallisville Reservior above Tinity Bay.

ArkansasHunter · 10-13-2007, 10:39 PM

I would bottle my own tap water and use a purification device to draw as needed.
I heard on the radio 2 weeks ago that COKE laughs all the way to the bank when they sell a bottle of water as well as some others...A.H

Big Dog · 10-14-2007, 05:54 AM

Growing up here in north Florida, our well water was always clean and fresh - Dad had made sure we had a deep well.
Our closest neighbors had well water too - it had that horrid sulfur smell and bad taste. They had a very shallow well - the guy was on the 'cheap' side.

Our two wells were not more than 300 yards apart.

You need to go deep to get good water.

My shooting buddy south of town (known for 'sulfur water' too) has a very good filter system - $4000 worth of gear. The kind one adds salt to every so often.
During the '94 and 2001 floods, all his neighbors had their well water contaminated, and had to go thru a couple weeks of bleach treatments to kill the nasties. Keith had no problem with his water - coming through the treatment, it always tested clean. He considered that sysem well worth the investment.

ezearln · 10-14-2007, 06:35 AM

When I lived in Virginia we had a very shallow well (less than 25' deep) that's main purpose was for watering the garden (about an acres worth) but that well produced some of the best tasting water I've ever drank!

Dallas · 10-14-2007, 10:02 AM

Hey EZ when you were in Virginia where did you live?

ezearln · 10-14-2007, 10:05 AM

In Virginia Beach and in Chesapeake

SilentSoul · 10-14-2007, 06:03 PM

I grew up on good underwater spring fed well water, so cold and good. Now I have the most horrid city water, cannot even use the dish washer its so hard. I want to move to the country again, some where with no cattle to ruin the water.

10-13-2007, 08:26 AM	#1
Cr@ckSH0t Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: I dont know, im kinda lost myself Posts: 182	Bottled water vs Tap water In my social studies class we recently got into a debate, one which was the class vs I. We were discussing the fall of the roman empire and the anarchy which ensued and we somehow got into a discussion about what equipment you need to survive a disaster. Now, i live in Florida, so it was unanimously voted on the likeliest disaster to occur in our area would be a hurricane. After awhile we can to the topic of water. The entire class universally accepted (including my teacher) that bottled water was the best to have in this kind of emergency. I felt that this was a load of B.S. Why not go to home depot or some other place and buy large containers to fill up with tap water. Not only is it cheaper, but safer and quicker as well. You dont have to beat the thousands of other people racing to grab the bottled water like you. Well, needless to say I got burned by the class, big time. They wouldnt even consider my p.o.v. and also they never said one good reason why bottled water is better than tap water.So,finally, the epitome of faulty logic and blindly following instructions, a girl in my class said that she only heard bottled water, not tap water, to be in the news so that was what she was going to follow, the END!! Well, I would like feedback on this, whether you support my way of thinking or theirs. (By the way, these were all 12th graders) .....And yes, my ego was hurt. Btw, im 18 now Sweeeettttt!!!!! Last edited by Cr@ckSH0t; 10-13-2007 at 08:39 AM.

10-13-2007, 08:45 AM	#2
ezearln Senior Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Texas Hill Country Posts: 3,175	Well I can feel for your ego! But don't let it sting too long cause the fact is that MOST bottled water IS tap water! The only real benefit in buying bottled water is the convienance of the packaging and to some the taste. It's to be remembered though that most of the containers used for bottled water tend to break down within a relatively short period contaminating the water inside. I'd recommend food grade PVC or butyl containers specifically made to hold water long term as well as stocking a gallon of clorox for purification. Remember in a survival situation it's far better to be a wolf than a sheep. As your class mates graze you might ponder that. __________________ "You can have my Freedom when I'm done with it!"

10-13-2007, 09:04 AM	#4
ezearln Senior Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Texas Hill Country Posts: 3,175	Whoa there! 1/2c of Bleach per 5 gallons is way way WAY too much almost to the point of being dangerous, I only use 2 cups of clorox to "Sanitize" the fresh water tank on my camper! That of course is mixed with about 5 gallons of water then agitated for 20 minutes and left to stand overnite and then drained and refilled without adding clorox! Note how I repeatedly said CLOROX? The reason is Clorox is heavily filtered and refined almost completely pure chlorine bleach believe me it is worth the extra cost, 2-3 TABLESPOONS of Clorox to a 5 gal container is more than enough to sanitize and keep the water from contamination for between 60-90 days. after that the water should be dumped or used and then refilled and treated. __________________ "You can have my Freedom when I'm done with it!"

10-13-2007, 09:20 AM	#6
ezearln Senior Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Texas Hill Country Posts: 3,175	I wouldn't imagine he would but chlorine is a dangerous chemical, even at household strengths. One of those that too often folks use thinking if a little is good then alot must be great. Toxic levels can be reached very quickly and is isn't just an ingestion by drinking problem either Chlorine breaks down in UV light and constantly off gases so there is an inhalation threat as well. Also if no one has ever told you never ever mix chlorine with any other chemical ever. Especially anything with any form of acidic componants to it. __________________ "You can have my Freedom when I'm done with it!"

10-13-2007, 03:22 PM	#7
Big Dog Moderator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Tallahassee, Florida Posts: 10,213	My sixty gallons of stored water are city water. I get a periodic report on water quality, which folks have no idea of with their bottled water. Since most municipal water is treated already (at times, I can smell the chlorine) it can be stored as-is - no added treatment necessary. If it makes us feel better - 15 drops of NON-SCENTED chlorine bleach to five gallons of water. Keep it stored in a cool and dark place, it'll keep well for a long time. I rotate my water every year - no problems. I like the 7-gallon "Water Cubes" at Wally's - rugged, stackable and have good spigots for easy pouring. Once I read a story in the news (yeah, consider the source . . . ), of a name-brand of bottled water being taken from the Thames River in England - now, I consider that tantamount to coming from a drainage ditch . . . __________________ Moderator of: AR15/M16, M14/M1A, New/Beginning Shooters and Militaria/Collectables.

10-13-2007, 08:52 AM	#3
Cr@ckSH0t Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: I dont know, im kinda lost myself Posts: 182	Thx, we have four of these 5 gallon plastic containers downstairs we put water into in case of an emergency. My dad says he puts a half a cup of bleach into them to stop the contamination or something. When I talked to my dad about the tap vs bottled water, he said thats what he's been doing for the last 20 years or so and he has never even bothered to tell me that!!!!!

10-13-2007, 09:11 AM	#5
Cr@ckSH0t Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: I dont know, im kinda lost myself Posts: 182	I probably heard wrong, my father is a doctor so I doubt he would be so stupid as to put too much in there.

10-13-2007, 03:37 PM	#8
Triggerjerk Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 978	In the book "Becoming Self-Reliant" the author, Ken Larson, recommends 16 drops of unscented chlorine bleach per gallon. I do not know if that is correct or not. Mrs. Triggerjerk and I regularly lose power in the winter, which means no heat or water pump. We bottle our own well water each November and add no chemicals. Has not killed us yet. Your teacher and classmates can spend their money on bottled water. Save yours for a nice .22 rifle! __________________ We old dogs can learn new tricks. We just may not like performng them. TJ

10-13-2007, 03:43 PM	#9
gunney_m Banned Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Muskogee,Ok Posts: 1,931	Water is Water.

10-13-2007, 04:05 PM	#10
TexasT Do you have my stapler? Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Everywhere you want to be. Posts: 4,199 Blog Entries: 16	You can say water is water unless you live in a place where the water tastes like vomit warmed over (i.e. Galveston or New Orleans). I'd prefer the taste of bottled water over tap water, but if I lived in a place with good tasting water I would have no problem using tap. I don't think one over the other is necessarily correct. You could get those Ozarka ppl to deliver you some of their 5 gallon things, that would work too. __________________ I'm just a little bit caught in the middle. Life is a maze. Love is a riddle.

10-13-2007, 04:47 PM	#11
GoodAim Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Beaumont Tx Posts: 383	I know what you mean TexasT. I live in Port Arthur and here the water is awful. I have never drank any of it unless it was by accident. I buy bottled water. I normally have at least 2 cases on hand. Unless they think there may be another storm then I go buy 12 cases. This last little Hurricane we had the power was out for 2 days! Lucky me has a generator though. I can power the entire house including the A/C. I am not worried about any kind of outages. The water here is not curable IMO by any means!! __________________ [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]Power is useless with out Direction.

10-13-2007, 09:50 PM	#12
Dan22 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Central Florida Posts: 391	When i moved to Florida in 1978 I couldn't believe how bad the water tasted. Some people have wells with sulpher water that smells like rotten eggs. My latest refrigerator has a great filter that makes the city tap water taste OK. If I had a preference for survival water it would be the 5-gal bottles you can get in BJ's and other outlets. But, in the end, it you need water for survival I doubt if taste would have much to do with it.

10-13-2007, 10:23 PM	#13
SPOCAHP ANAR Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: SC-upstate Posts: 4,094 Images: 3 Blog Entries: 4	My mother in law always stores up soda bottles of water and fills the tub up when a hurricane is announced; just in case. Don't let the ignorance of your peers bother you. While they are spending their money on $5 a bottle of water at the market when the hurricane is a coming you can spend your's on ammo to protect your stash and maybe go get some of theirs. __________________ Spocrest Out!..........

10-13-2007, 10:38 PM	#14
Full MeTal Jack Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Southeast Texas Posts: 1,425 Images: 1	Crackshot your on the right path for self relience. Another key item is fire. The ability to make and keep fire and to boil water. Boiling water from an untreated surface fresh water source will kill the dreded crypto virus. Super chlorination will not kill it. Cypto's outer shell is so tough cl2 will not oxidize it. A rolling boil will do the trick. Next you need the abillity to filter water. There are many small portable filters available. One thing with them is the ceramic filter, it needs to stay wet or have the ability to rejuvenated. Crackshot, I can tell your not a boyscout, otherwise you could have dominated the debate. Adding bleach to a untreated fresh water surface supply can disifect some of the water but as stated, it will not kill Cyrpto Sporidium and that other virus, Giardia. Also Chlorine in this example will combine with organics in the surface water to form trihalomethanes, a known carcinigen. Big Dog can smell the chlorine in water. If it's well water, a cl2 smell is WAY TOO high or a breakdown in cl2 residual from something in the piping. Usually a smell of cl2 is from a treated surface water treatment facility where the Utility adds amonia and chlorine to form a monochlorimine. Monochlorimamines is not as strong an oxidizer as cl2 by it self but last longer in water. Sometimes there are taste and oder problems due to the chemistry of the surface water supply. Miss Texas T knows. Galvaston's water is ah, er ah, well it's drinkable and meets the state's requirements for a safe drinking water. My assumpstion it that Galvaston gets it water from the Wallisville Reservior above Tinity Bay. __________________ [IMG]http://img287.echo.cx/img287/63/9130110x100a4vb.jpg

10-13-2007, 10:39 PM	#15
ArkansasHunter Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: South Arkansas Posts: 10,686	I would bottle my own tap water and use a purification device to draw as needed. I heard on the radio 2 weeks ago that COKE laughs all the way to the bank when they sell a bottle of water as well as some others...A.H

10-14-2007, 05:54 AM	#16
Big Dog Moderator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Tallahassee, Florida Posts: 10,213	Growing up here in north Florida, our well water was always clean and fresh - Dad had made sure we had a deep well. Our closest neighbors had well water too - it had that horrid sulfur smell and bad taste. They had a very shallow well - the guy was on the 'cheap' side. Our two wells were not more than 300 yards apart. You need to go deep to get good water. My shooting buddy south of town (known for 'sulfur water' too) has a very good filter system - $4000 worth of gear. The kind one adds salt to every so often. During the '94 and 2001 floods, all his neighbors had their well water contaminated, and had to go thru a couple weeks of bleach treatments to kill the nasties. Keith had no problem with his water - coming through the treatment, it always tested clean. He considered that sysem well worth the investment. __________________ Moderator of: AR15/M16, M14/M1A, New/Beginning Shooters and Militaria/Collectables.

10-14-2007, 06:35 AM	#17
ezearln Senior Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Texas Hill Country Posts: 3,175	When I lived in Virginia we had a very shallow well (less than 25' deep) that's main purpose was for watering the garden (about an acres worth) but that well produced some of the best tasting water I've ever drank! __________________ "You can have my Freedom when I'm done with it!"

10-14-2007, 10:02 AM	#18
Dallas PUKHA DAWG Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Virginia, just outside of Washington D.C. Posts: 3,595	Hey EZ when you were in Virginia where did you live? __________________ Those who forget History are condemed to repeat it.

10-14-2007, 10:05 AM	#19
ezearln Senior Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Texas Hill Country Posts: 3,175	In Virginia Beach and in Chesapeake __________________ "You can have my Freedom when I'm done with it!"

10-14-2007, 06:03 PM	#20
SilentSoul Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 603 Images: 1	I grew up on good underwater spring fed well water, so cold and good. Now I have the most horrid city water, cannot even use the dish washer its so hard. I want to move to the country again, some where with no cattle to ruin the water.