[BwanaNdege]

We teach villagers in the developing world to drill their own water wells using hand augers. We also teach them to make BioSand water filters, homemade sand filled concrete containers that remove pathogens. We use test kits to demonstrate the absence/presence of coliform bacteria (pollution).

Our mission’s director of appropriate technology was teaching these things in Mexico and made three different tests to show his students how contamination occurs. The first was of water coming straight from a pipe in the local spring. The second was from the tank being filled by that pipe, a tank that the locals would stand in to fill their water buckets. The third test was of locally available bottle water.

Direct Spring water - no bacteria
Spring collection tank water - contaminated
Bottled water - contaminated!

Just like in the USA, many bottled water companies overseas just fill the bottles with whatever is coming out of the tap. It may be safer, but that is not guaranteed.

[GeorgefromGeorgia]

Drinking bottled water in Mexico may account for my getting to know Montezuma for a couple of days.