Ah, but if people will buy it, why not sell it? Supply and demand. Kids with coolers and a bit of sense can start making money hand over fist by buying the 24-packs in grocery stores and re-selling single bottles to kids on campus. The poor school will lose money to young entrepreneurs; wait, this is starting to sound awesome.
I actually only drink bottled water, but that’s because water tastes terrible to me and the bottled stuff tastes more like the plastic it’s been sitting in than pipes. I’m perfectly happy to drink juice or soda instead (extremely healthy, I know, but at least that’s probably worth $2-3). I’m happy to shell out for something that tastes better to me. It’s also more convenient; nothing to clean! Nothing to carry around with you well after you’re done drinking. It would annoy me if I had something I enjoyed and was willing to pay for taken away because someone wanted to raise awareness and reduce the environmental footprint.
But, I do agree that it seems ridiculous to pay good money for something that’s 3 cents from your tap. So I say as I drink a bottle of water that is both tolerable and convenient.
It's just my natural instinct to try and offer sensible advise to people, rather than take advantage of their foolishness. Not saying there aren't occasional times when it makes practical sense to buy bottled water.
In Rome, if you carry a bottle with you, you can fill it up in the fountains all over the city. Otherwise, it’s about 2 euros.