Students take tap water challenge

Cola wars, step aside. The new beverage battle is between bottled water and old-fashioned tap water.

Passersby were able to put their palates to the test in Frist yesterday, as student volunteers and members of Corporate Accountability International (CAI) performed the "tap water challenge."

"People think bottled water is healthier and safer than tap, but in fact, bottled water is much less regulated," said Dan Favre of CAI, as he prepared cups of water for blindfolded students and complained that the bottled water industry has too much marketing muscle and political influence.

"Twenty-five percent of bottled water is just tap water; it comes from the same sources. It's just repackaged," Favre said. "Overwhelmingly, people can't tell the difference, often because there is no difference, except for the price."

CAI contacted environmental groups at Princeton for volunteers to help with their "thinking outside the bottle" campaign, which focuses on the water industry and its "[aim] to turn bottled water into a profit-driven commodity, like oil," CAI press officer Bryan Hirsch said.

Greening Princeton and Princeton WaterWatch took part in the event.

Peter Ryan '07, a member of Greening Princeton, said he is more a fan of tap water than bottled water.

"It's economically stupid to be paying for something you can get for free," Ryan said.

Many of the participants, however, could tell the difference between tap and bottled water, though Favre was quick to add that taste is only one of the issues about which the group is trying to raise awareness.

He said he thought that more people could identify the tap water at Princeton than at most other places he has volunteered, but that participants understood the greater message about corporate accountability.

"I usually just drink bottled because it's more convenient" Phil Chacko '09 said. "It's more appealing, has brand name recognition."

However, Chacko could not tell the difference between the types of water when he participated in the taste test — a fact he attributed to living in Princeton Junction and being used to the water.

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"I thought the tap was bottled," he said.

Ted Yeh '06 said that tap water does taste bad to him, but he still drinks it because he does not "want to go out and buy bottled."

Ritu Kamal '07 said she did not mind the taste of tap water.

"I grew up in India. I'm sure the water tastes worse there," Kamal said. "The max I would do is filter it, but I'm too lazy. I definitely would not buy bottled water. I'm vehemently against it."