Free Aquafina Tap water?!
Free Aquafina Tap water?
Since Aquafina is tap water and tap water is free at restaurants, would that be a loop-hole to get free Aquafina?
Answers:
I hate to burst your bubble, but most bottled water products are made from tap water. Spring water and artesian water products must come from a ground source, but the vast majority of distilled and purified water products use municipal (tap) water as their raw ingredient.
You aren't paying for the water, really; you're paying for the process of purification. Aquafina, for example, starts with tap water and runs it through a reverse osmosis purification system to remove most of the impurities (dissolved solids, harmless microorganisms) found in tap water. Depending on the quality of their municipal source water, they may also pass it through large filter beds to remove chlorine, trace minerals, and trace organic compounds. The water will then be treated with ozone as a disinfectant before it is sealed in bottles. The ozone dissipates during shipping, and the water you buy is purer and better-tasting than water straight from the tap.
The price of bottled water is determined by the cost of running a plant (electricity, labor, facilities, space), shipping (raw materials in, finished product out), and the actual cost of the water. Water bottlers pay for the municipal water they use just like any residential customer, albeit on a much larger scale. You also pay for the packaging and for the convenience of having a supply of easily-portable clean water.