23 March 2026

As a Registered Dietitian, I frequently speak with clients about the importance of water. It’s critical to our physiological functions and our food supply. I’m happy to report that fewer people seem to be drinking soda and more choosing water these days (not that soda can’t fit into an otherwise healthy diet). But as you know, everything is relative.

We need to talk about bottled water.

Most of the NYC [public] water supply comes from reservoirs in the Catskill Mountains, with up to 30% from beautiful lakes and reservoirs near me in Westchester. The water from the Catskills does not need traditional filtration, because the source is so well protected - although, just like the private well in my old house, UV light disinfection avoids potential microbial contamination. The water from Westchester - however pristine it may look from my vantage point - does require filtration, due to its proximity to people. There’s a plant in the Bronx that takes care of that.

I feel pretty confident that the water in NYC is safe to drink. In fact, there’s a restaurant in my old town that literally brings the water up from the Bronx to make their pizza - they think it’s that special.

Still, many NYC residents buy bottled water. Why?

It’s not a new phenomenon. Apparently, as far back at 1767, wealthy consumers (who took trips to spas in the mountains) and city dwellers (who often did not have access to safe drinking water) have been buying water in bottles (glass, of course).

In the fifty years from 1920 to 1970 - with safe drinking water free to most Americans - bottled water sales dropped off. But when lightweight plastic bottles were invented, Perrier saw an opportunity. Sponsoring fitness events like the NYC Marathon and using the tagline, “Earth’s first soft drink” helped them capture a health-minded audience. Subsequent lead scares in the 80’s raised concerns about municipal water safety, leading consumers to the impression that bottled water was safer than tap. As public health messages turned against soda, beverage companies also had to come up with a new income stream.

Poland Spring has been embroiled in a lawsuit since 2017 over whether their water actually comes from a spring. And don’t even get me started on the ten minute YouTube infomercial for a “premium” bottled water brand that gets transported from a small island in the South Pacific but claims to be focused on sustainability (yeah…sustainability of their profits)!

I couldn’t find peer-reviewed data on the health benefits of any particular bottled water, but I know that concerns are emerging about the dangers of plastic. While unproven, if anything, there’s an argument to be made that bottled water is less healthful than tap water (of course, this also depends on your location and important factors like local water treatment plants and pipes).

But it’s so convenient!

As I considered my perception of bottled water as more convenient, I realized…it isn’t! Perhaps when I’m out on the town and need a drink, it’s easier to buy a bottle of water (what happened to all the public water fountains?), but in my home, what’s easier than turning on the tap? Certainly not lugging cases of bottled water home from the supermarket each week. It’s also my opinion that it’s much nicer drinking from a glass than a plastic water bottle.

What about taste?

You don’t like the taste of your tap water? I didn’t at my previous home, so I just purchased a Brita pitcher for $20 (= 5 cases of Poland Spring). Problem solved! And on the topic of cost, a gallon of tap water costs about half a penny; a gallon’s worth of bottled water would cost closer to $10 (plus environmental cost…).

Over a billion gallons of water are used in NYC every day (that’s over 100 gallons per person per day), and that’s a number which has been reduced over the last few decades due to conservation efforts and leak detection. Is some of that reduction also due to the marketing success of bottled water?

While the bottled water industry is supposedly very efficient (1.41 liters of water required to produce 1 liter of bottled water), we add to that transportation costs and other environmental implications (greenhouse gas production, pollution) and it doesn’t seem like a good deal.

With only 93% of plastic getting recycled (and don’t forget, that requires energy too), single use plastic is rarely a good idea. Yes, if or when the water supply is unsafe, plastic water bottles can be a life saver. For the rest of the time and the rest of us, we can do something that may improve our health and will definitely reduce our climate impact. And that will make our lives better.