we have a place right in the heart of downtown salt lake city that we can go bottle our own fresh cold spring water and for free.

It's certainly a good way of making money. But the best investment is to by a pura tap (what they call it where I am from) which purifies the tap water. But the thing I like about bottled water is for a start, it is better then buying coke (if you are going to spend $2 buying a drink) and it doesn't have that chlorine taste that tap water has.

A cynical marketing scam that simultaneously plays on peoples fears and elitism.

The same people who complain about paying $1.57 for a gallon of regular gas will spend $2.00 for 16 onuces of this stuff! Tell them its designer gas!

If you've ever tried Plano tap water, you'd know why I pretty much live on Ozarka. Overpriced bottled water is a joke, but if you can get good, inexpensive stuff, and your local tap water seems like two parts water/one part urine, then go for it.

Very, very irritating.

Suckers.

It is amazing how much bottled water people buy - I heard the statistic the other day, but already I can't remember it (not sure if that's a sign of advanced age or just disinterest in the subject in general). To say that water is water is just a bit oversimplified - some water is really unpleasant tasting and/or unpalatable, at least in other parts of the world. We're pretty much OK here in the US (and I would extend that to Canada as well, but am not sure about Mexico), so I think it's really somewhat of a status symbol to be drinking bottled water. It can be convenient at times to buy bring-along bottles when you're on a trip, but once yo have the little plastic bottles, why go out and buy more - just fill them with tap water and bring them along with you. I have to admit that when I was statione in Europe I developed a taste for the fizzy mineral water, but over there it was cheap enough and seemed to go well with restuarant meals. Overall, though, you're paying for the packaging and the marketing rather than for the product itself. It's a real moneymaking scam, and the wonder of it is that it ever caught on in the first place.

Oh please - fancy names on pretty bottles do not a better water make....

HI; Things just got a whole lot worse for Coca Cola in Europe 350 Million people. After falling foul of the UK Government by containinating (and Public admission) that Dasani bottled water has illegal amounts of carceogenic material BROMATE in it. Coco Cola had to remove the product from all UK outlets, it then ran into our FSA and Advertising standards authority by calling the Dasani product Pure(Its just tap water, they take it from the mains supply, strip it of all important minerals chemicals and then put some back). Trouble was they put back cancer causing levels of Bromate. Not only are you paying 1000% extra for tap water, this stuff can cause cancer. Sounds a great deal to me. Sorry, nearly forgot, it got so bad for Coca Cola Europe yesterday they just announced they will not launch the product in Europe.

I am amused at those customers who buy this stuff. the bottles claim to come from some spring in foreign country oh so it must be good for you. I agree with others water is water. I guess those who are health food addict think they are putting something good into their bodies.

It wouldn't surprise me one bit if I found out that all these designer waters come from some faucet in Mexico City.

Shall it be Gucci?

I drink a lot of bottled water because its convenient, tastes good and it doesnt contain all the crud in tap water. Based on what Ive learned about it over the past couple of years, the best and most economical drinking water goes through a process called reverse osmosis. I buy this in gallon jugs at the grocery store for about 29 cents per (49 if its a new bottle). Dasani (by Coca Cola) and Aqua Fina (Pepsi) brands are both processed this way and are relatively inexpensive especially if youve replaced sodas with water. Drinking more water is great for your health but I do think some of the more highly marketed, fancy schmantzy stuff has become pretty silly if not misleading. I'm mainly thinking of the ones that are supposed to have vitamins or other health food supplements like Ginseng, Ginko Biloba, or whatever. This may be good stuff in its own right but it would be almost impossible to get enough of it in a bottle of water for it to have any kind of a positive effect. Well, other than in your imagination of course.

I'm in favor of recycling but refilling the same bottle of designer water with tap water again and again defeats whatever purpose you may have for buying it. Except if you just want to look cool of course.

I wonder how many people fill their Desani bottle with tap water before they go to the gym.