Yet Americans pay the high price tag without blinking an eye because a very powerful marketing campaign has convinced society that tap water is scary and water bottles are the only necessary safeguard. Phrases like “spring water” and “bottled at the source” drive home the belief that the product in the bottles is somehow safer, more natural and more exotic. In fact, U.S. standards for municipal tap water are more stringent than bottled water standards.

However, what comes in the bottles may not be different. Many common water bottle brands, such as Aquafina and Dasani, get the water from municipal or “public water” sources — the same place tap water comes from, as reported by The Associated Press.

The huge demand for bottled water requires copious amounts of water to be pumped — some of it from our own state. Perrier, after being bought out by Nestle Waters North America, began pumping water out of a hunting preserve in Mecosta County in mid-Michigan in 2001 to make Ice Mountain, which is sold in the Midwest.

Then-Gov. John Engler allowed the company to open up a plant for less than $100 per year in licensing fees, along with millions of dollars worth of tax breaks.

The plant now pumps more than half a million gallons of water a day despite complaints, campaigns and lawsuits from residents who realized such unsustainable pumping will lower lake and stream levels, which offsets the natural balance of the ecosystem.

But these products have become fashionable even though tap water is delivered to your home through energy-efficient infrastructure, according to the Earth Policy Institute report, imported water must travel thousands of miles by gas-guzzling boats, planes, trains and trucks.

Even domestic water, which accounts for about 94 percent of the bottled water in the U.S., still must be transported from the water source to the distributor to the retail store to you.

Even worse, most water bottles are packaged in plastic made from crude oil. The U.S. demand for bottles uses about 10 million barrels of oil every year, and globally about 2.7 million tons of plastic are used to bottle water each year, according to the institute’s report.

What do you do with the bottle after you’re done drinking? While recycling seems like the easy, environmentally friendly answer, not enough people do it. Eighty-six percent of the plastic water bottles used in the U.S. become garbage or litter, according to the Container Recycling Institute, and Michigan doesn’t offer a bottle return for water bottles.

While it is great so many people have become aware of the importance of drinking plenty of water, there are plenty of easy ways to get enough water without using a disposable bottle every time. Consumers can purchase reusable bottles for only a few dollars, which is nothing compared to the cost of purchasing a new water bottle every time you want a drink.

People concerned with the quality or flavor of their tap water also can purchase water filters. Although they may seem a little pricey, the cost of filters are only a drop in the bucket compared to how much you could spend purchasing prepackaged water.

It’s time for the U.S. to make some simple lifestyle changes away from disposable bottled water use to reduce waste, save money and protect local watersheds.

Liz Kersjes is the State News opinion writer. Reach her at kersjese@msu.edu.