Water- Bottled water

On daily basis in our work places, in the gym, classroom, almost everywhere you find people carrying bottled water with them at all times, it's now a thing of "status quo healthier meter" among women. Every minute of the day, Americans spend more than $10,000 on water, something they don't need to do. In 1976, Americans drank 1.5 gallons of bottled water per person; In 1999, they drank 15.5 gallons and today the number has greatly increased.
Some of us would like to believe that all bottled waters taste the same, and does not have contaminant like those found in tap water- this is a horrific lie, bottled waters are not free of contaminant that may be found in tap water. "In fact, a four-year study of 103 bottled waters released last year by the National Resources Defense Council, an environmental group showed concerns. Among them: several waters had levels of chlorine by-products or arsenic that were above the threshold set by California, through within limits set by the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In this report, multiple samples of 39 bottled waters was taken to the laboratory to analyze the waters for harmful substances that can occur naturally or stem from treatment procedures or bottling"
Finding- "The major differences in taste were due to the type of plastic in the water's bottle. In most cases, water in clear PET plastic (usually bottles of 1.5 liters or smaller) tasted better than those in cloudy, softer HDPE plastic (usually 1-gallon bottles).
None of the waters that was tested harbored contaminants above current standards. That said, some occasionally had a bit more than would like to seen of one or more substances that shouldn't be prevalent in drinking water.

Plastic Bottled waters

Good drinking water should taste like nothing. However, nothing can still taste a little like something, and water usually taste clean, fresh, lively, and a bit crisp. Bottled water in PET plastic generally taste better than bottled water in HDPE plastic, and this is true within the same brand.  For example, Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water, has a sweet, fruity plastic flavor when bottled in PET plastic( imagine the scent when blowing up a beach ball). Water in PET bottles cost more. When bottled in HDPE plastic, it tastes a bit like melted plastic (imagine the smell when you get a plastic container too close to the flame). Winn-Dixie's Prestige premium 100% spring water is the only bottled water in PVC plastic that generally has a good rating.
Different plastic water bottles impacts the taste of water because some plastics more easily can allow nearby odors into the water thereby affecting the taste. Also small amounts of plastic chemicals in plastic bottles could leach into the water especially it sitting in bottles for a long period of time. Even the process used in creating the plastic material used for making the bottles can affect the taste of bottled water.

Advantages and disadvantages of water bottled materials used:-
PET(also known as PETE)- short for polyethylene terephthalate, PET is a clear, strong plastic that leaves nothing more than a faint sweet or fruity plastic flavor. Labels for some brand packed in PET play up the "clear" taste of the water inside.

HDPE is  high-density polyethylene, the opaque, flexible material of milk containers. It's less expensive than PET but often imparts a slight melted-plastic taste to water. Taste may also be affected by excessive heat or flavors from foods stored nearby.

Glass:- Chemically glass is inert and has no effect on the taste of water in it, whatsoever. But it's heavy and breakable and is seldom used now days only for pricey mineral waters and water bottled for bars, restaurants, and hotels.

Polycarbonate is strong and rigid, it's used for compact discs as well as 5-gallon water cooler jugs. The three water cooler waters we sampled- Great Bear, Deer Park, and Poland spring did not have funny flavors. The water in polycarbonate bottles tasted better than same products in PET  or HDPE bottles. The Down side of polycarbonate bottles is that it sometimes leaches residue of worrisome chemical contaminant called bisphenol-A (Bisphenol-A (BPA) which is the building block of polycarbonate and can leach from there into water or food. BPA is a carcinogen and it mimics the hormone estrogen as seen in animal studies; in this study 8 out of 10 five-gallon polycarbonate jugs that were checked leached bisphenol-A into water-from 0.5 ppb to 11ppb. Judging from research, BPA can negatively affect pregnant women and their developing fetuses.
Some water bottle companies play up bottled water to be better than tap water - this is not an absolute truth.