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Where you get your hydration from does matter

Posted at 12:38 PM on June 4, 2008 by Sareen Dunleavy Keenan (6 Comments)

I gave up soda a long time ago. Recently, I have added some local root beers back into my diet (for no good reason). I thought I was doing the right thing for myself. You know, making the smart choice health wise. However, thirst doesn't go away and this lack of soda quickly turned into a glut of water purchases.

I wanted to give them up, but they were the right choice for the baby right? Pregnant ladies are supposed to drink a lot of water daily. And, after all, I was still recycling everything. Well, walking the neighborhood quickly cured me of the bottled water fascination as well. These are bottles heading for recycling, but it still doesn't seem right. Just one families water supplies fills a bag nearly 3 feet high. The bag, put out every two weeks, is typically filled with water bottles. This was a small sample from this neighbor. The alley is full of great citizens recycling their waste. But isn't there more we can do before the garbage becomes... garbage?

I know our water comes from the Mississippi, but is it really so bad that we can't use the tap water? I could link to many articles detailing why we should give up the bottled water addiction. Instead, my reason is simple. I drink local water! Enough said.

Comments (6)

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Why not save on the "petroleum-based" plastic and get yourself a Britta water-filter pitcher or invest in an under-the-sink filtering system? I have used the pitcher for years and my recycling fits inside a standard box - every other week. Saves me money since tap water is still pretty cheap and I only have to replace the filters every couple of months.

Posted by Sheila | June 8, 2008 4:10 AM

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I guess you should also be thankful that you live at the "top" of the Ole Mighty Miss. If you were further downstream, you probably couldn't even filter it. . .

Posted by Sheila | June 8, 2008 4:12 AM

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Hi Sareen,

While I think that Sheila is probably right about those poor people below the Twin Cities, I do think that the drinking water in MPS/STP is probably much safer than most - see this link for details about the new water filtration plant.

I also do a secondary treatment with a Brita water filter - not sure if it is doing anything about viruses but it does take the nasty taste of chlorine out.

Posted by Scott | June 10, 2008 4:59 PM

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Scott, in your opinion does that chlorine taste vary from week to week. It could be the pregnancy hormones increasing my ability to smell at times, but it sure seems to me that there are some days where it smells like a swimming pool in my shower.

I have the Brita pitcher and I used it. And then I don't. And then it is back in the fridge. Currently, it is out of the fridge because it takes up too much space.

We boil all baby related water and keep that pitcher in the fridge. Last pregnancy I got bottled water by the gallon from a local business for 35cents a gallon. But with the baby, all those bottles of water (4 per week) combined with the milk and other groceries just got too much to carry.

Perhaps the under the sink thingamajig would work well for me. Less to think about! Thanks for the thoughts. - Sareen

Posted by Sareen | June 10, 2008 5:58 PM

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I live in Saint Paul and drink tap water which usually goes through a Brita. I don't have a problem with drinking the water at all. Occasionally I have trouble with water when I travel - to Ankeny Iowa for example. But I'm just used to it. And you are right - that is too many plastic bottles!

Posted by Tara | June 12, 2008 8:00 PM

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I was at my mother's house in St. Paul. She looked at me quite curiously when I asked for a water bottle. She gave me a bottle of water. I insisted that no, I only wanted a water bottle to fill up on my own. She shook her head and said "you care so much about the organic and local foods, but not about the water?" Seemed a bit strange, but I just couldn't justify another bottle being used because I wanted to drink on the go.

Seems it will be a new level of planning for the road trip. We head on down to Omaha a few times a year and that is a lot of water to travel with us. Especially when we will be traveling next with two babies in the back!

Posted by Sareen | June 14, 2008 11:18 AM