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I never meant that a consumer buying cases of water at the grocery was wasting money, my point was that at so many venues, water costs well over a hundred bucks a gallon. Why is my tap water only worth .003 cents per gallon, at the store maybe a buck a gallon, and at a concert 120.00 per gallon?
Which price is “correct”? Even at a store, if water is more than a nickel a gallon, that is too much. Water prices should vary by thousands of percent?
Imagine if you will, what might ensue if a gas station in California charged 10 a gallon, and one in Arizona charged 50 cents, and one in Massachusetts charged 100.
Instead of assuming that your tap water is not potable, why not have it tested , install a filter and or softener as needed, etc. If it cannot be brought up to safe standards, then buy bottled water.
And I use a CPAP machine and is does require distilled water, but, it costs a couple of bucks per gallon, and it is not tap water, it is distilled. I buy two gallons per month.
I will never feel that plain old water is worth what everybody charges, again, anything more than a few pennies per gallon is wrong.
I am not suggesting there is never a need to buy bottled water, I am steadfast, though, in that it costs far too much, by , in too many instances, thousands of percent. My previous house had a well , so, my only cost was for the electricity for the water pump, so, virtually free. Let’s just say it cost me .001 cent per gallon. Now, do the math and I hope you are shocked at the difference between that and 120 per gallon.
In many cases it is necessary to buy bottled water, but, there is no justification for the insane prices that are so routinely charged, except greed.
Alas, I have always been sure that perhaps Einstein or Newton or Da Vinci was the wisest person ever to inhabit Earth, oh no, let us find the person who decided to bottle water, and make a figurative killing, and that person shall be capable to find the cure for everything that is a threat to humanity and Earth.
So, a price variation from virtually zero, to, 120 a gallon. But, those darn big oil companies, gouging us, etc.
Sadly, I feel I may have a future as a politician, I.e., I say one thing and shortly thereafter, do something different.
I very recently said that we pay thousands of percent more, etc., for bottled water, for the exact same stuff that falls , by the billions of gallons when it rains and so forth, and boy was I wrong! And by at least a thousand percent!
The horrific recent hurricane Helene, and the previous rainstorm that preceded it, dumped approximately 40,000,000,000, 000 gallons of water, that’s 40 trillion, which is not a mere “ drop in the bucket”.
I am clearly not hesitant to admit when I am erroneous, which happens with alarming frequency, please, accept my apologies.
I need to also get this off of my chest, I was the high school teacher whom criticized a teen age Albert Einstein , telling him, “ You will never amount to anything, Einstein!”
Finally, would anybody like to buy a Betamax VCR?
The price of water, like real estate or other commodities is a function of market prices. In Death Valley, there is no water and if you were there and thirsty you might pay a lot to get some. You won’t find a drinking fountain at a truck stop on the interstate, but you will find lots of bottled water. It is expensive to run a store out in the boonies, so why give away water when you can charge for it. And, at concerts, and sporting events it isn’t just the water that is expensive. Ask your flight attendant the time you fly for some water. Get out your wallet first……
Have we ever mentioned here that there are still water fountains near the gates in airports? HD readers and commenters, do you bring an empty water container with you through TSA, then fill it while walking to your gate? In some countries (China for one) you can choose between cold and boiling water at the airport because everyone carries tea leaves in their water bottles. Available on trains too, for free.
Yes, of course. My day pack has two outside pockets. I use one for a refillable water bottle and the other for a collapsible umbrella. If I’m in a country where I have to buy bottled water, at least I can buy bigger bottles and transfer it.
I seem to remember that Russian trains also had hot water, maybe even tea.
I forget, I am getting old, that the tap water is even a better deal, after all, it is delivered right to the home,generally a few feet from our location, the kitchen and bath sinks and the like, or the water dispenser on the fridge, It does not require a trip to the store, using that very expensive fuel, fighting traffic, etc. So, much better prices and a vastly better delivery system to boot!
Thank you everybody, and I hope you have a great day. ” I may disagree with what you say, but, I will defend to the death your right to say it.”, a French guy named, ” Volarie”, or ” Vulture ” said that. Not, ” Voltaire”, he invented electricity, I think. Not sure.
As I’ve probably already said somewhere in an HD comment, one of the first things my grandson said when he arrived here to attend school was, “You know what’s the most awesome thing about America? You can just turn on the water and drink it. You don’t have to boil it first!”
A very brief update, I talked with a friend in San Jose, and he went to a concert, a single bottle of water, a pint at 16 ounces, required a twenty dollar bill, and no tip was included, so, a mere $ 160.00 per gallon for water. And, I promise, I shall hereafter never say a single word concerning. my thoughts that bottled water is more than a bit overpriced.
p.s., I recently splurged on a 18 year old bottle of scotch, it was a hefty $83.00 for 1.75 liters, which is very close to 2 quarts, times 2 for a gallon, is about $ 160.00 a gallon, and it came in a burly glass jug, with handle, etc., not a flimsy plastic container .
Thank you , all , for your responses, and I will never concur that water should be priced at a level that approaches a well aged scotch, as I have said, ad nauseum, the water that commands so much hard earned cash, falls , by the billions of gallons, every time it rains.
I am aware that it is not practical to collect rainwater , except to maybe have the gutters drain into barrels to water the garden and the like, but, I strongly feel that a markup of thousands of percent, no matter the venue , nor how nice a container , is more than a bit ridiculus. A price of maybe a buck a pint should suffice, I would think.
A price range of virtually free , in the case of a private well, and, .003 cents a gallon for town water, up to $160.00 a gallon, for water, I would venture a guess that no other product on Earth has such a tremendous price range.
Even the fancy Italian Ferraris are around $ 700,000,the cheapest new car is around 18, or so, so, roughly 40 times the money for the cheapest to the most expensive vehicle, compared to .003 to 160 , for good old H2O.
( And lets not talk about movie theater popcorn, a small bucket for ten bucks, yet many establishments offer it for free. ) Caveat Emptor, which is Latin for, er, um, duh, something relating to something else, I think.
Alas, from a low of .003 to the high of 160 per gallon, is a 50,000 % difference. Not bad. Of course, if water is obtained for free , it is an infinite difference.
Thanks so much, Michael, for a hefty dose of the best medicine ever and it was free except for the electricity used to charge my cell phone’s battery so I could read your water columns and the comments.
Where I live we have good water so I have no reason to buy. But respectfully I don’t think you are making an apples to apples comparison on prices. All venues like concerts or sporting events the food and drink is massively overpriced, no disagreement with you on that. Comparing water from home to a grocery store isn’t going to be accurate. That’s like me comparing vegetables I grew to the cost at the store. Of course the store is more. With bottled water the company has to account for its costs, the plant, materials, labor, fuel etc. At my local store a gallon of water costs 76 cents. The simple reason you see so many varieties of water is because the demand is there.
I think you’re missing the bigger picture by focusing too much on water. Do you think coffee is much better? How about a branded t shirt? A sneaker? A sneaker that is a slightly different colour and hence a rare drop? Price sustainable in the market is rarely a function of absolute raw material cost.
Mike, I knew exactly where you were coming from. While vacationing in Mexico, I could buy a single serving soft drink for a fraction of the price charged in the U.S., and this was on 5th Street, Playa del Carmen, the tourist area. Somehow the retailers here have convinced us that it’s okay to pay $3 for bottle of water or Pepsi or whatever.
Yes, and as long as we keep paying, nothing will change. So many people misunderstood what I said, I just meant bottled water is just way too expensive. And I certainly know that in many cases, tap water is not a choice.
And I agree, even soda is expensive , it is mostly water.
But, thanks for the message.