"Bottled water isn't any safer or purer than what comes out of the tap," says Dr. Sarah Janssen, science fellow with the Natural Resources Defense Council in San Francisco, which conducted an extensive analysis of bottled water back in 1999.

They were judging taste, smell and clarity of tap water for 15 cities and water districts from across Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming. The city of Loveland placed third, said McGee, the city’s water plant manager.