Safe public drinking water

Certainly, in less developed nations, where public water supply has a higher risk of being contaminated by pollution, harmful microorganisms and rusty water pipes, bottled water is safer -- drinking tap water can lead to gastroenteritis, diarrhoeea, vomiting and stomach cramps. However, for most industrialized countries, public water is safe for drinking straight from the tap.

In Singapore, tap water undergoes a range of treatment processes before it is distributed to consumers, to ensure that it is safe to drink. The water is chlorinated to disinfect and eliminate bacteria, viruses and germs that might be in the water, and to prevent potentially harmful microorganisms from re-growing in the water pipes. The water in Singapore is also fluoridated for better dental health.

H2O is H2O is H2O

While bottled water is often advertised as "natural" and labelled with depictions of mountains, glaciers and springs, there is no evidence that bottled water is safer or purer or healthier than tap water.

In fact, many brands of bottled water are nothing more than municipal water packaged in plastic bottles. In addition, roughly 40 percent of bottled water uses tap water as its raw material. Distilled or purified bottled water is made by removing the trace minerals in the water, while fortified water has extra nutrients (like Vitamin C and calcium) added to it.