Craig Zucker, founder of Tap’d NY, not only took back the tap, but took it and started using it for profit – basically putting himself in the same boat as some of the very bottled water companies he denounces. He’s begun his own bottled water company – but in this case, he bottles New York City tap water, which he purifies with a filter and then sells at the bottled water market rate.

What’s the point in buying bottled tap water at $1.50 a bottle when you can turn on your own tap for just $0.02 a gallon? Especially when the company’s owner pays that exact same $0.02 a gallon, and yet gets to make a financial killing out of cleaning it up a bit, putting it in a bottle, and selling it at the same price as traditional bottled water? Good question. Also considering that, when compared to a gallon of gas, the cost of a gallon of bottled water is much higher.

And yet somehow Zucker has managed to find consumers who believe there’s a good answer. His stance? Trying to take on the big, bad, overseas bottled water companies that try and lure consumers to drink their water over his bottled tap water – with a “local twist.” Making it seem like it’s a baseball game and he represents the home team, while other companies are the dreaded away team. Ignoring also that 40 percent of bottled water is actually purified tap water.

He’s right about one thing – tap water is a better option than bottled water. It’s regulated more often and by somewhat more stringent standards than those that regulate bottled water – though you can see from our September 23rd post that the EPA still has a long way to go in that regard. But in almost everything else, he’s misleading his customers. If you really want your water to be safe, inexpensive, and environmentally friendly, you have to remove the bottle from the equation.

So consider this – you can buy and install your own water filter and keep enjoying your affordable tap water, now purified, and in the long run you’ll have saved a lot more money than if you had switched to this bottled tap water business that offers you the same thing at an exorbitant price. In effect, you’ll have stopped a swindle in progress. And you’ll have done your part to take back the tap – responsibly.

- Sofia Baliño