Are you thinking about drinking tap water but the thought of it makes you gag? Are your children living on soda and dyed juice type drinks, both filled with high fructose corn syrup? Is the high cost of bottled water just one more thing destroying your limited budget? Although water is necessary for life on this planet many people will not drink it - it must come to us disguised as something else.

Then we struggle with the eco-friendly issue of bottled or tap.

Although, the mayor here in New York City and other elected officials tout NYC drinking water as some of the best in the country, NYers aren't easily sold. Especially since it was recently reported that the City spends $2.1 million dollars annually on bottled water to supply its own offices. Even if it is good water, and I do think it tastes pretty good, there is the issue of ancient plumbing in old office buildings and apartment buildings - not to mention the addition of flouride. So Nyers go ahead and consume 856 million bottles per year according to the Container Recycling Institute (container-recycling.org).

Millions of bottles of water are sold annually despite the fact that the plastic bottles fill our landfills and it takes 1,000 years for the bottles to break down chemically. Equally bad is the fact that these plastic bottles have BPA (Bisphenol A)*

Bottled, tap, filtered, ionized, etc., with water being of prime importance to our bodies, some folks just won't drink plain water.

If you still cannot bring yourself to have a glass of water and you know the children in your life absolutely must drink it, it may be time to make drinking water at home fashionable and interesting. If nothing else you will save a bit of money.

How can you serve water to make it more appealing?

- do what the trendy restaurants do - here in Brooklyn they often serve water in recycled milk and wine bottles. I prefer water to all other liquids and I do like a good presentation (see photo of vodka bottle filled with water) so I collect various bottles from my folks. Somehow the water tastes extra cool and crisp (an added bonus to using wine and liquor bottles is that there may still be some residue in the bottle).

- Can't drink a full glass? Try it in a shot glass and just throw it back. Done! I have these little cups from Korea (see photo of wine cups - for adults only). Everything tastes special in these little cups. I find children love little bottles, cups, glasses.

(Here's a random thought: What if we always served our children water in shot glasses - then when they go off to college the idea of drinking anything other than water in a shot glass would appall them!)

You can also make water more exciting by:

- slicing cucumbers to go in a pitcher of water. I'm often served this in restaurants during the summer. I find this very refreshing or maybe it just looks refreshing. Be sure to peel the cukes first.

- slicing lemon to go in a pitcher of water and squeezing just a bit into the water - again very refreshing.

- a bit of sugar - on a hot summer day this beats those sugary energy drinks.

- a sprig of mint - after getting mint from my daughter-in-law's garden, I used it to make hot tea, to add to iced tea (see two toned iced tea link), and just throwing a sprig in a pitcher of water - it is actually kind of sensual with that minty smell!

- warm water seems to give water a whole different personality. About a year ago I started drinking a cup of water in the morning and now I find I cannot eat until I have that water.

Now that you are drinking water once again how much should you drink every day?

- for the longest time we've been advised to drink 8 glasses per day. But lately we have begun to think for ourselves and know that a person who weighs 180 pounds probably has hydration needs that are different from the person who weighs 130 pounds. Surely, too, an active person needs more water than a person who wears a couch.

More recently the suggested amount of water to drink depends on your weight. You should drink in ounces 1/2 your body weight. So if I weigh 150 pounds I should drink 75 ounces of water per day.

Meanwhile hydration can come in other forms:

- in watermelon - which is 98% water

- coconut water - which is excellent for hydration (see link below)

- Asian pears are surprisingly watery

- watery soups

- some say coffee and tea, others say no because they are diuretics

- sorry I don't think booze counts

- water is still number one as it detoxifies

Where should you get your water?

- Many people will swear by bottled water no matter what the cost, damage to the environment, or the chemicals leaching in to the plastic bottles. Read the labels. Some claim to be spring water but other bottled waters are no more than purified tap water.

- There is always tap water - you can find out the condition of the tap water in your community through the U.S. Geological Survey at usgs.gov

- Some people swear by boiling their water

- You can buy filters that attach to your faucet or under the sink

- You can buy the popular filtered pitchers

As for me I believe in varying my poisons and will try a variety of ways

I have had the opportunity to drink pure spring water directly from springs in various locations around the world and there is nothing like it. I've had the opportunity to drink well water in the South (when I was a child) - that was water!

In the meantime I drink it because I like it and...well, I have to. For more information about water and hydration check with other hub page writers who have written excellent articles.

*BPA - according to National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (niehs.nih.gov), this is a high volume chemical used primarily in the production of polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins. There is growing public concern about its widespread use, especially in baby bottles. It is also used in the lining of metal cans - as in the canned goods you have stashed in the pantry. Its use is causing intense debate according to ourstolenfuture.org which cites heavy research from various sources on the toxicity and dangers of BPA (Bisphenol A)