While bottled water is generally of good quality, Federal standards for bottled water are no stricter than standards for tap water. That means that federal regulations only require bottlers to test for a handful of the hundreds of known chemical contaminants. But there are other issues to consider such as cost, convenience, and usability. It is a lot less expensive to own your own Kinetico K5 Drinking Water Station when you consider the time and costs associated with bottled water. Also, your Kinetico drinking water system will allow you to use the water for many purposes including cooking without rationing. Treating your own water at home will eliminate the need for storing bulky plastic bottles and supply you with unlimited water, right on tap, at prices per liter that are considerably less than buying bottled water. Another issue is that the use of bottled water is environmentally questionable when one considers the unnecessary costs of plastic generation, product transportation, and empty bottle waste/recycling.