Do you drink Austin's water? (population, systems, washer)

[myhotradio]

I drink the water here with a passion and don't reccomend bottled water because it is both a waste of money and bad for the environment. While occasional spills do happen Austin has the appropriate infrastructure to ensure that such spills do not drastically affect the water system. So drink away.

[ATX Wahine]

I prefer to not drink it right out the tap because truthfully, I just don't think it tastes very good. We have a good filter on our Samsung fridge however, and the ice and water that come out of it is wonderful. Crystal-clear and odor-free.

[FueledByBlueBell]

So the water in my large Ozarka bottles (for our bubbler) isn't so great?

[cleanwaterlady]

Hey Fueled...if you look on your Ozarka bottle you'll see where most of it is a product of Piney Woods, Texas municipal water source, without any additional filtration. Straight from one tap into the bottle. What's so special about that? Austin's water cost is about $3.50 for every 1000 gallons. How much do you pay for a 5-gal jug of Piney Woods water? I recommend you put a nice self-backwashing whole house carbon filter on your water main and have great water throughout your entire house, and quit relying on Ozarka. And I would venture to say that the TDS (total dissolved solids) of Austin water is less than Piney Woods (meaning there are fewer impurities in Austin water).

[Peanut Cream]

This whole thread amuses me because you guys are fussing over Austin water. It seems like you guys don't know how good you have it. Waco water is the most terrible water that I have ever tasted. I'm there for Uni most of the year and I can't bring myself to even cook with it. I buy water at the store.

When I came back home at the beginning of this summer, I drank Austin tap water like crazy. I'm going to cry internally when I have to leave it in two weeks.

[jread]

Originally Posted by hthrmck

austin has the nastiest water i have ever tasted in my life. Do not drink it. You may die. I can't even rinse with it when i brush my teeth. It is unbelievably disgusting.

lol

[mudbug]

Of course I find the water discussion interesting because I make my living selling bottle water. I think most tap water where I have lived has been pretty good. I grew up on well water and have the teeth fillings to prove it.RR water is a little hard and does cause a shower door issue. Most bottle water in the grocery arena sells for less than .17 per bottle. For pure convenience a great value. To wash and reuse a bottle to carry your water has a cost and an environmental impact. The bottle water industry is a target for every green group due to the thought water should be free. My company uses protected spring sources and does not package tap water. My competitors package Dallas or Houston municipal water and of course people buy due to cheap price. However this situation helps to justify my job. God bless America and capitalism.
Bottom line: The PET used in bottled beverages does not cause cancer.
A single soda beverage bottle has enough PET to produce 3 to 4 PET water bottles.
Water is still the best beverage you can drink. Period!

Side Note: Article in today’s Austin paper talks about how great San Antonio has been in protecting the Edwards Aquifer. We can’t water lawns in Austin but they let a company bottle and sell Edwards Aquifer water.
To the Statesman’s staff do a little research before you pick on Austin.

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by CptnRn

I have not noticed the water smelling in quite some time. It used to be common during certain times of the year that it had a fishy smell. The water department said it came from a type of algae I believe in Town Lake, where Green Water Treatment Plant used to take in its water supply. That portion of the lake was shallower and warmer then upstream where the newer water treatment plants intake their water. I just read yesterday that they have decommissioned the Green Water Treatment plant downtown so perhaps that smell problem will be less common in the future.

Apparently decommissioning Green Water Treatment Plant hasn't eliminated the occasional water smell.

Austin Water Utility said recent testing has detected elevated blue algae levels, and while it may emit a musty odor, the water still meets all regulatory standards.

News 8 Austin | 24 Hour Local News | LOCAL NEWS (http://www.news8austin.com/content/your_news/default.asp?ArID=252117 - broken link)

I could swear a month or so ago someone here reported that the Austin Water utility told them Austin's water had no smell. Yet this press release confirms what most of us locals know. It occasionally stinks.

Here is another article about it.

Blue-green bacteria in Lake Austin harmless aside from unpleasant taste, smell (http://www.dailytexanonline.com/state-local/non-toxic-algae-may-change-austin-water-supply-1.1878107 - broken link)

[G Grasshopper]

Originally Posted by mudbug

To wash and reuse a bottle to carry your water has a cost and an environmental impact. The bottle water industry is a target for every green group due to the thought water should be free. My company uses protected spring sources and does not package tap water.

Washing your reusable bottle takes less water that the water consumed in manufacturing the bottles and bottling the water. Washing your own does, of course, have some impact. But it is much smaller than the impact of buying bottled. Personally, I am not against using bottled water because I think it should be free, I am against it because only about 20% of the personal sized bottles are recycled, and most end up as tiny fragments of plastic, fouling our roadsides and polluting our oceans. There is information out there on chemicals leaching from the plastic into drinking water, but I can't speak with authority on that. Using "spring sources" can be very damaging for the ecosystems downstream that depend on that water. And we haven't even mentioned the hydrocarbon pollution from trucking water all over the country. There are other arguments, but I'll stop. I don't blame you for defending something that provides you with your livelyhood, but the other side needs to be mentioned.

[AustinAaron]

Iskilde and BERG . . . 2 of the best bottled waters I've ever had the pleasure of drinking. Can't imagine having to drink tap water when far superior tasting water exists. Though, both of these pale in comparison to GOTA. Like drinking life in a bottle.