10 Reasons You Shouldn't Drink Bottled Water (Slideshow)

According to both government and industry estimates, approximately 40 percent of bottled water comes from city and municipal water reserves. Sometimes it's additionally treated, but sometimes it's not. 

There’s No One Assessing it for Quality

60 to 70 percent of percent of bottled water sold in the U.S. is exempt from the FDA's rigorous water standards because the FDA says its rules do not apply to water packaged and sold in the same state. 

It Could Contain E. Coli

While it's not in companies' best interests to sell water full of E. coli to consumers, there's no law saying they can't. Federal law states that city tap water can contain no E. coli or fecal coliform bacteria, yet no such law exists for bottled water. 

Cities are Required to Tell You What’s in Your Water

Federal law mandates that cities must release annual "right to know" reports about the contents of drinking water; bottlers are under no such obligation. 

Making Bottles Wastes Water

It takes three times as much water to make one plastic bottle as it does to fill it. 

We're Filling The Oceans With Plastic

The Ocean Conservatory has found that every square mile of the ocean has 46,000 pieces of floating plastic in it. Plastic bottles and plastic bags are the two most prevalent forms of plastic waste. 

You Probably Can’t Recycle it

Only bottles made of polyethylene terephthalate can be recycled, which means four out of five water bottles are sent to landfills or tossed into the ocean. 

Your Bottle Is Going To Outlive Your Great-Great-Grandchildren

Each convenient little bottle of water takes 1,000 years to biodegrade, and they produce toxic fumes if they're incinerated. 

It’s A Rip-Off

Bottled water costs roughly 1,000 times the price of a glass of tap water, and that's counting the cost of a home water filter. 

You Probably Can’t Taste the Difference Anyway

Last May, Good Morning America gave their audience a blind taste test using New York City tap water, Poland Spring, O-2 Oxygenated Water, and Evian. The clear winner was New York City tap water with 45 percent of the vote.