Please Explain To This Newbie About Orlando Water!

[All Aboard]

It is not "Florida" water you are talking about, it is "Orlando" water. Every city in FL is different, and mine up here does not have the sulfur smell that you sometimes get down there.

Thanks for posting this. For years I've read this complaint and each time I say your first sentence to myself. I was about to finally post this, and read your response. Yes, there are plenty of places here in Florida that have good tap water.

 

[Jackie H.]

I also have to disagree that it will not make you sick. It won't kill you...it won't send you to the hospital (I don't think)...but it can make some folks sick. For three trips, my daughter would get sick on the third day... Then I read on these boards about the possibility that the water can make some people become ill. Since then, I never let her drink the water....bottled water ONLY. She has not gotten sick since. Hubby, DS and me - we can drink it fine. But something about it disagrees with her.

Of course, I can't PROVE it was the water that did it. But I'm not taking any chances on it either!

 

[mill4023]

CITY water in Florida might be bad, but good, fresh water from a real well in the rural areas of Florida is great. Hence the idea to start bottling some of it from a particular hilly location in Central Florida and sell it - Zephyrhills...

While I agree that most city water in Florida (and likely every other city in the world) doesn't taste very good, a nice well tapping fresh aquifer water in Florida is a wonderful thing.

Orlando tap water is definitely nasty.
I have to disagree with a couple things you said though.

First, Zephyrhills is by far the worst tasting bottled water I've ever had the displeasure of drinking. Why anyone would actually pay money to drink this stuff is incomprehensible to me. I guess everyone has different tastes, but my whole family thought it was terrible. Unfortunately, this is the brand Universal sells. We were so relieved to find that Disney sells Dasani, which actually tastes really good.

Second, not every city in the world has terrible tasting water. I grew up in Oregon, and the water here is great, even in larger cities like Portland. I guess that's because it comes from rivers that originate in the not too distant mountains.

We had a rental car and had strollers with us, so it was easy to buy cases of water from walmart and just throw a few bottles in the stroller basket each morning. We did end up buying some at the parks when we ran out, but it definitely helped to start the morning with a few bottles.

 

[grumpymakesmehappy]

All I have to say, is thank goodness for fresh Tennesssee spring water! FL water is terrible...the smell, the taste...Yuck! I would hate to have to drink that stuff all the time. Even though it smells gross, we have never gotten sick drinking it. We just can't stand to smell it so we steer clear of it.

 

[Lucky4me]

Lucky - We must be spoiled by our local water - the difference between here & FL kills me.

Most definitely, but no one else in my family seems to have the same problems I do except for the taste. BLECK!
Maybe I'll have my cousin taste test the new filtered water and give it a try if she doesn't keel over.

 

[krissyh]

I've lived in NY and FL and I have to say that the tap water in NY (a few miles from Love Canal, no less) tastes far better than any tap water I've had in FL. All of my "Florida Friends" have the big water jugs in their kitchen. If the locals won't even drink it...

 

[jcriket]

For anyone who really wants to know what's in the water, where it comes from, and if it's safe here's a linkhttp://www.rcid.org/uploads/2005%20CCR.pdf Personally I belive a lot of what you smell and taste is chlorine, which is used to do the same things it does in pools. If you run our water through a carbon filter you remove the chlorine, and other stuff, and it tastes better. Zepherhills is filtered, I've seen Canada Dry bottles saying they where bottled in central florida, and Dasani says their water is bottled locally, so if thats true Disney's Dasani water is from the same area.

 

[ZoZo]

Was just there a month ago. Got tired of lugging a water bottle around, and had seen a post on this site with a great suggestion.

Any time I was thirsty, I just walked up to any counter-service restaurant and asked for a cup of ice water. They're very nice about it - they often give you a large one with a lid and a straw. The water is filtered, so it tastes fine. No one ever said a word about charging me for the cup or anything (as a few fast-food restaurants do).

This is a great alternative for those who "travel light" and don't want to lug around bottled water. Plus, it's ice-cold!!