Water, Bottled Versus Municipal

Within a generation, Americans have gone from routine comfort with and reliance on water from the tap supplemented with water fountains in [Page 1455]schools and the public square to a dependence on bottled water. This entry describes current patterns of water consumption in the United States and the impact of bottled versus municipal water on the nation’s economy. Next, the sources of the U.S. water supply and the regulations that govern them are identified, and environmental concerns raised by the global use of bottled water are examined. The entry concludes with a look at various policy statements and programs concerned with the water needs of both developed and developing nations.