IntroductionData provided by the IBWA (International Bottled Water Association) reveals that bottled water has become extremely popular in the American market. More than $11 billion has been spent on bottled water consumption and consumption has tripled over the past 10 years. The bottled water market in the United States is the second largest after soft drinks. In 2006, U.S. consumption of bottled water was more than 32 billion gallons, up from 20 billion gallons in 2001. Each year, a Houston resident consumes an average of 90.5 gallons more water than the world average of 24.2 liters. Such growth in bottled water consumption is likely due to consumers' perceptions of the safety, purity and convenience of bottled water. Typically, growing public awareness of bottled water causes 50% of Houston's population to drink bottled water and approximately one-third of Houston's population regularly drinks bottled water. Since 1976, the bottled water market has grown in Houston and the United States as a whole. (See Fig. 1).Fig. 1: Growth of the bottled water market since 1976 Source: (Olson, 2013). Despite the growth in bottled water consumption in recent decades, there has been general criticism regarding the purity of the water in bottle. . Some claim that Huston tap water may be safer to drink than some glorified bottled waters. The purpose of this report is to provide recommendations on whether to drink tap water or bottled water in Houston, Texas. Recommendations The report uses different criteria such as cost-benefit ratio. analysis, environmental impact, health and safety issues and processing technique to provide recommendations. The report recommends that middle of paper ......ed water be less strict. ReferenceEPA (2013).Water Trivia Facts. Environmental Protection Agency. United States.Jemmott, J.M. (2008). Bottled water vs. Tap water: rethink what you drink. Reader's Digest Magazine, February 2008. Mayo Clinic (2010), Water: How Much You Should Drink Every Day. UNITED STATES. Natural Resources Defense Council (2003). Study finds drinking water safety in U.S. cities is at risk. NRDC Reports. Olson, E.D. (2013). Pure natural or pure hype bottled water drink. Natural Resources Defense Council. Saleh, MA Abdel-Rahman, FH Woodard, BB et al. (2008). Chemical, microbial, and physical evaluation of commercial bottled waters in the greater Houston, Texas area. Journal of Environmental Science and Health Part A. 43: 335-347. City of Houston (2014). Drinking water operations. The city of Houston. Texas.