Quite an interesting discussion. However, in Germany only a minority of people drink tap water - we buy the drinking water in bottles - mineral water we call it and on the label of the bottle is mentioned what the water contains, so we can choose the water that's best suited for us.
By the way, when I was in the UK last week I also bought and drank bottled water and noticed that the ingredients are also mentioned on the label there.

Pumicestone, you are right in former times men didn't have such high hygienic standards as we have. However, people reached an age of 35 or 40 years, whereas our average age is between 70 and 80 years. Many drank fresh well water, i.e. water naturally enriched by different minerals during its way through the soil.
As to the plastic bottles - in Germany you can buy bottled water in glass bottles - the only disadvantage for me, for instance is that as we buy the water in boxes of about 12 it's quite heavy. So last year I switched over to plastic bottles, which in summer aren't very good, because due to the heat ingredients of the plastic get into the water.
Plastic is recycled in Germany - i.e. we have to pay a deposit on plastic bottles, too. Recycled plastic is used for a lot of things - park benches, flower pots etc.etc. - I was told.
I hope, I didn't get too much on your nerves lol

Must be some 'high profit' in selling bottled water here. As it has never been harmful to us, over all those past decades, just what is wrong with tap water. One can always fill a glass bottle to take when going out. IF, you have a glass bottle.?