ntantiques > wrote:

>We're fortunate to have a tested well that provides fabulous water -
>cold and clean. Bottled water is just something we keep on hand for
>emergencies. I can completely understand using bottled if your local
>water is nasty, but could never understand the droves of people in our
>previous home (a CA suburb) who inisted on buying bottled even though
>their local tap water was indistinguishable from the stuff they were
>buying by the case.

One word: chloramine.

Not sure when you lived in CA (that's California, not
Canada true?), but it may have been before they started
adding chloramine to the water. It's toxic to fish,
wears out gaskets (so far it's got our toilet flush
valve and the valves in our washing machine), "safe"
for humans and it cannot be boiled or Brita'd out.

Steve