Whoever said water is free was a liar.
Although it may cost only a fraction of a penny to pour a glass of water from the kitchen sink, the expense is much greater to purchase a bottle of water from the grocery store or the Student Center.
The tap vs. bottle debate sometimes comes down to convenience.
"I will not drink (bottled water) unless I'm going hiking and there's obviously no faucet," said Blake Harris, a sophomore in education. "If I know there's a good waterfall, I will drink from that. Dasani and Smartwater don't really taste like water. They taste like (they) are their own drink."
Need to make a quick stop for water? One Dasani at the gas station usually goes for 79 cents, and that's about as cheap as it gets.
"I prefer Dasani because it just tastes pure," said Sarah Katheryn Heinss, a junior in psychology. "It's more expensive, but I think it tastes better."
Fiji? That'll be 99 cents --plus tax. There goes two perfectly fine $1 bills.
Smartwater from the Student Center goes for $1.99, which might not be as ridiculous as it sounds, given the long, sleek bottle designed by Glaceau--the same French company that came up with Vitamin Water.
Successful as the bottled water industry is today, there must be more than meets the eye.
Are people simply paying a high price for convenience, or are other motives operating behind the scenes?
All the big-time water companies--Smartwater, Dasani, Fiji, Evian -- use advertisements that appeal to the younger generation.
Smartwater recently sponsored Jennifer Aniston and Tom Brady to highlight the importance of Smartwater among today's young culture.
On Smartwater's Web site, sexy photos of Tom Brady working out advertise the significance of added electrolytes in Smartwater. A photo of Jennifer Aniston surrounded by a smiling group of girls advertises Smartwater's new proactive goal: "Action for Healthy Kids," a nonprofit organization to combat obesity.
No one can forget Evian, another French bottled water company which advertises to young people.
But Evian takes its advertising a step further, putting precocious babies on roller skates, jamming out to boom boxes and performing other physical feats that babies definitely can't do.
"We have consumers of all ages," said a spokeswoman for Dasani. "We do not target any particular age."
However, the Dasani Web site features background music by "Cool Young" and "Beautiful," plugging the overarching themes of youthfulness, crispness and purity.
Dasani said its water implements the purest filtration process according to the FDA called reverse osmosis.
Reverse osmosis is supposed to remove impurities so thoroughly that less than 10 parts per million of dissolved solids are left behind.
On the other side, Smartwater's Web site claims it takes premium water to an entirely new level.
According to glaceau.com, using a unique combination of vapor distillation plus electrolytes results in a pure, crisp tasting water that works harder for the body.
Most bottled water company claims to benefit the environment in some way.
Among other things, Dasani is trying to conserve several critical freshwater river basins. Fiji has devoted an entire sub-department to its environmental efforts called Fiji Green.
Fiji Green promises to be more carbon negative, to help save the rainforest and to recycle more -- all under the slogan "Every drop is green."
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