[djloche]

The reason is that you can buy a case of clean bottled water for ~$1-2, providing you clean, good tasting drinking water for a month. This is something even people at or below poverty level income can afford and dramatically increases quality of life.

The individual has little to no control over the water or pipes that runs the water to their home. It is a take it or leave it situation. If you own your home, then you might be able to install a water filtration system. This might be at the very least $200+. Okay. That doesn't compete with the price of bottled water. What about just a water filter pitcher? $30+. Well, now that's far more reasonable, but still represents 20-30 cases of water.

Bottled water IS the cheap, easy option. Should people fight and vote for infrastructure improvements so that they have clean, good tasting water? absolutely. But while we're working on that, we'll drink bottled water.

[amalag]

$1 for enough bottled water for a month? Where did you get that number from?

We were living away from our home (and water filter) for a few months and bought the cheapest bottled water we could. It was $1 per gallon. Where is this magical bottled water plant that 60 gallons of water for $1.

[djloche]

I'm going to concede on the particulars of how low the price was because it must have been just a killer loss leader in-store sale at walmart - the cheapest I can find now online is ~$7 for the same flat of 35 17oz bottles.

I am, however, going to disagree with how much water. 2 gallons of water for a single person each day seems to be more than just excessive for drinking water. Even if I was drinking 17oz each primary meal and another upon waking and upon going to sleep, that still leaves 171 oz remaining to reach 2 gallons.

[amalag]

Actually me and my wife went through approx 1 gallon per day, not 1 gallon per person, so approx 0.5 gal per day per person.

We use an RO filter, provides amazing taste.

[semi-extrinsic]

Friend of mine spent 6 months sailing from Europe to and around the Caribbean and back. He said they planned with 0.8 gallons per person per day. That has some safety margin in it, of course, so 0.5 gal per day per person is likely bang on actual consumption.