Have you considered the possibility that your pet may actually be reacting to the taste of the spring water, not to any certain additives in the tap water? Spring water tends to taste sweeter than tap water and distilled water (at least IMO, and I've drunk lots of different kinds of water).LOL-I don't know WHY pets like mud flavored water so much, though. All of ours do, too.
Horses are renowned for rejecting new water sources ("you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make them drink"). Horse owners often deal with this by "masking" the new water flavor with sugar, flavored gelatin, or uncarbonated fruit drink powders, which they gradually decrease until the horse is drinking just water, or they will sometimes carry their own water for short jaunts.
We have a Lab mix that absolutely REFUSES to drink water while in the house, unless we put her dish IN her crate!She will drink readily from the same dish just fine outside. Just not IN the house, OUTSIDE of her crate. Silly thing!It's not an issue of tap vs other water in our case, though. We have well water.Our water has a rust eating bacteria in it that is harmless to consume, but makes the water smell awful. We have a filter on our tap, but the animals get unfiltered water, because they don't mind the taste or smell (we have had the water tested, and there was no trace of harmful bacteria or chemicals-just the stinky lil rust eater, which is great for the clothes but bad for the nose).
As far as bottled water goes, are you aware that many bottlers actually use tap water and simply modify its flavor to create their product?There is also the issue of PET from the plastic bottle leaching into the water over time, or when exposed to sunlight during shipping. That is part of the reason there are expiration dates on bottled water.If you are going to use bottled water, it's recommended that you choose a heavier opaque plastic container, or provide your own glass container.
I just recently watched a program that demonstrated how they turn sewer waste water into drinking water in California. It totally boggled my mind!
Sigh- anymore it just seems to be a case of "pick your poison," and sometimes I even wonder about the "anymore" part. I think water quality has been a constant societal issue up to this point and always will be.But I must admit, I am glad to be living in an area of the world where we have at least SOME accountability for the safety of the water supply and access to fairly clean water.
