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February 25, 2008
Throw Away Those Arrowhead Bottles Already:
One of my favorite food writers, Jeffrey Steingarten, once did an elaborate and methodical taste test of several different varieties of tap and bottled water. After much research and even more adjectives, he came to the shocking conclusion that New York tap water was most pleasing to the palate.
And now Los Angeles tap water has every right to brag as well: it won the award for best municipal water at the 18th annual Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting held this weekend in Virginia, going up against waters from around the WORLD. That's right, we have the greatest tasting city water in the WORLD!
The title of best municipal water was shared by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which serves Los Angeles, and the town of Clearbrook, British Columbia.This is only going to make me madder every time I go to Costco and see families piling crate upon crate of bottled water into their carts -- not only do those bottles NEVER biodegrade, but the water you're drinking is probably tap water itself. And hey, you know what else they sell at Costco? Brita filters and gallon-sized water dispensers! I made the switch over to filtered tap last year and now I enjoy crisp, cold, taste L.A. water every day.Los Angeles won a gold medal in 1998 and has been in the top five in four other competitions since then, according to the competition organizers.
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Tap water is great and I tried using Brita filters, but the pipes in my very old apartment building probably needs some replacing because the water comes out looking and tasting like rust. Otherwise I'd gladly stop shelling out $2.50 a week for 2.5 gallon container of water.
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Ice cubes made from LA tap water smell like garlic. I don't know what kind of crack those testers were smoking. LA tap water tastes like warm pool water with all the chlorine they put in it. Gross!
I miss Chicago tap water, rated Excellent by Natural Resource Defense Counsil. PS they rated LA "Fair"
NRDC: What's On Tap? Grading Drinking Water in US Cities
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yeah, it does kind of smell like garlic. hm. use a brita!!!!
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Perhaps the title of this post should say Recycle instead of Throw Away :)
And a tip to all those who buy large 2 gallon size bottles, shelling out $2+ for water, how about taking that same bottle to your nearest Glacier vending machine and fill it up for $0.25/gallon (it might have gone up to $0.50, mind - I went Brita ages ago).
Glacier vending machines are often outside of Vons and Walgreens type places.
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Brita all the way. I really can't imagine drinking LA water straight. New York totally has great water.
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In regards to Raul's comment, I have rusty water for about the first minute, then it's fine. However, running the water for a minute is not good for conserving water. Thanks old apartment pipes!
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I grew up in NYC - always drank the water & still will. However, where I live in the SFV the water tasted bad before the earthquake and has tasted like bleach ever since. That being said, plumbers are re-piping my entire apartment building right this minute (effin' nightmare) so who knows what it will taste like from now on.
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Brita pitcher and tap water works fine for me at home, but I can see how some people's pipes can make for a dislike of the taste. Also, if your ice cubes come out tasting like garlic I'd think it was time to either get some new ice cube trays or clean out the freezer.
But yeah, don't throw out those bottles, recycle them! :)
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I use Brita too and stopped drinking mineral water at home after reading an article in the NYT about fancy restaurants serving tap water to cut down on costs as well as recycling.
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At an old apartment the pipes were so terrible you had to run the water for like 5 minutes so that it wasn't brown. And even after it cleared up, there were still small chunks of rust in it...
I bought a ton of bottled water when I lived there.
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I've Brita'd LA's water since I've moved here... but when my filter goes kaput I'll walk my hung-over butt to the nearest convenience store before I'll drink the water straight out of the tap. ::shivers::
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OK I think the thing you guys have to realize about this article is that they are saying LA Municipal water that tastes the best in the country. This is water taken from the source and hasn't run through the pipes to get to your house (tap water). LA Water has actually consistently won "best tasting" water awards for the past couple of years. Glacier Water and any of the no-name bottled brands get their "Drinking Water" from LA Municipal so you're better off buying them than fancy brands like Evian or Voss if you HAVE to buy bottled. Otherwise, just filter your water like Carrie suggests and you're set. I like using PUR myself. Brita's overrated.
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LA water has always been tastier than Chicago AND New York tap water. The difference is that it varies from city to city within LA county depending on the pipes.
The garlic smell is not the water but the freezer. It's called freezer odor. And it's solved my a box of baking soda and covering your food. The active cold surface of ice acts to absorbs odor compounds. The longer you leave it, the more it absorbs. Bad ice is not unique to LA. Otherwise, we'd all be reeking of garlic after we shower, and I smell good.
The tap water fear has got to be dispelled. Time and time again, studies have proven it's cleaner and safer to drink than bottled water. But if you must drink bottled water, the best mainstream water in Fiji. The second best is Glacier, which IS ACTUALLY Los Angeles tap water. Evian and Aquafina are so acidic and I pity people who convince themselves that it tastes better than tap. I can't even tolerate half a glass of those two.