Water Cost Chart. Courtesy/DPU
DPU News:
Harkening back to the days of the Pepsi Challenge, the Los Alamos Department of Public Utilities (DPU) is challenging the community to blind taste tests that pit County tap water against two different bottled waters.
On April 22, Earth Day Festival visitors will find a DPU table where they can determine whether they are able to distinguish differences among the three different waters.
A second taste test booth will be set up at ScienceFest Discovery Day on July 8. Revenue in the U.S. bottled water market is expected to total about $94 billion this year and then grow annually by more than 6%, according to Statista. That equates to about $279—or 200 liters— per person.
Los Alamos County’s tap water comes from the Rio Grande Basin, where it is pulled from the western side of the Española sub-basin, which is primarily made up of unconfined sediment aquifers. DPU’s water production wells range in depth from 1,519 feet to 3,092 feet below the surface. The water is not filtered but is treated by disinfection, which involves the addition of chlorine. DPU does not add fluoride as it already occurs naturally in the water that is pumped here.
Bottled water comes from a variety of sources, including springs, wells, surface waters and municipal water taps. When bottled, the water is often filtered or enhanced in some way. Some companies change mineral content by filtering out all minerals before adding other minerals back in.
Perhaps the most significant difference between tap water and bottled water is the cost to consumers. In Los Alamos, water from the faucet costs $0.006 per gallon. Using local grocery store pricing, a variety of bottled water brands range from $2.51/gallon to $14.66/gallon.
The Earth Day taste test will be held 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Los Alamos Nature Center. The ScienceFest taste test will be held 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 8, at Ashley Pond Park.
