The Water Debate: Bottled vs. Tap

I've been hearing about this issue quite a bit lately. As someone who drinks a lot of bottled water, I've especially interested in the topic, and concerned that I'm contributing to a wasteful practice. The basic argument is that there's no good reason to drink bottled water (which creates a huge "carbon footprint" during shipping, especially if it comes from overseas) especially since the standards for bottled water are much lower and less enforced than the standards for tap water, so in general, tap water is actually cleaner. My dilemma in Syracuse - the water tastes like chlorine and I don't like it. My justification for continuing to drink bottled water includes that I always recycle the containers. However, I'm going to invest in some reusable Nalgene bottles (available in outdoor gear stores like REI or LL Bean for $7 - $9) so I can avoid buying water in individual bottles:

http://www.nalgene-outdoor.com/

It's an issue I continue to think about. This discussion on NPR covers the issue well:

The Water Debate Continues: Bottled vs. Tap
Talk of the Nation
July 23, 2007

Last year, Americans bought more than 4 billion gallons of water in individual-portion bottles. Salt Lake City mayor Rocky Anderson explains why some city leaders are encouraging their citizens to start turning to the tap. Other guests:

Bill Marsh, author of "A Battle Between the Bottle and the Faucet,"
published in The New York Times

Joseph Doss, president and CEO of the International Bottled Water Association