In recent trips to my local grocery store, I have become increasingly aware of the volume of bottled water that people in my neighborhood buy. Almost an entire aisle is dedicated to it, and people are buying by the case. The phenomenon is a little odd. Boston's tap water seems fine to me.

Recently, the head of the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority took the Pepsi challenge. He and a panel of tasters, including a local wine expert and a local beer brewer, did a taste test with Boston water, Pepsi's Aquafina, and a few other bottled water brands. Not only did the entire panel agree that the five water samples tasted roughly the same, lab tests showed that there were no significant differences between the quality of Pepsi's bottled water and tap water.